ASARescue@... wrote:
On Monday, May 5, 2008 1:16 PM, Kristina Brunner wrote:Joan called to say she heard that WAO lost their USDA license and that their veterinarian quit. Have you heard anything?
Vernon
Greetings Vernon:
The WAO in-house vet did quit in 2006, but according to Terry (volunteer took a tour recently and garnered this information) Dr. Erhlund is the primary vet for the WAO and she recently moved into a new larger clinic.
I did send an e-mail to the USDA because another tour went out discovered missing baboons, tigers, and a caracal. Looked like some primates needed medical care as well.
It's all very upsetting....k
ASARescue@aol.com wrote:
ASARescue@aol.com wrote:
That's sort of what I figured. A false alarm based on old information. Thanks. Vernon
Please accept this letter as an addendum to the original complaint
letter previously submitted to your Office. The information contained
herein pertains to my original complaint regarding alleged misappropriation of
funds perpetrated by the non-profit 501 (c) (3) tax exempt organization’s
owners/operators of the Animal Sanctuary of the United States, d/b/a Wild
Animal Orphanage (WAO); f/k/a the Primate Sanctuary of the U.S. (PSUS), f/k/a
the National Sanctuary for Retired Research Primates (NSRRP), f/k/a The
San Antonio Wildlife Emergency Centre, f/k/a Primate Sanctuary of America
(PSA); f/k/a Chimp Aid; f/k/a Cat Haven; and f/k/a Whisker’s and Wag’s Humane
Society.
On Saturday, May
3, 2008 , a volunteer took a tour at the ASUS/WAO and video taped
the event. After reviewing the video and
speaking with the volunteer, I believed it imperative to notify your Office of
recent developments at the Leslie
Road
The WAO recently acquired two marmosets and the primates can be
seen on tour. Ms. Minchew claimed these
“delicate” primates were sensitive to cold weather and would need to be brought
indoors during the winter. She also told
the tour that one of the primates was “donated” to the WAO by a private owner
and the other was caught in a cat trap in San
Antonio
A lot of dog food was seen in the bears and primates’
enclosures. Ms. Minchew claimed dog food
was used only as a supplement food source, but it appears in the video that dog
food was the primary food source. There
was very little evidence of produce in the bears and primates’ enclosures.
At the “African Lions” enclosure, Ms. Minchew told the tour that Sheba Sheba May 3, 2008 )
what happened to Tarzan the lion, the worker hesitantly replied that she did
not know what happened him. Needless to
say, I am concerned with the WAO’s plans to integrate Jinx with the other three
larger lions, based on past integration problems with Sheba
Ms. Minchew acknowledged the new babies in the primate enclosures
located across from the cougars. Ms.
Minchew told the tour that some of the vasectomies did remain permanent and so
the staff would have to sort out the males to determine which ones were
producing offspring. Ms. Minchew has
been making this comment for two years now and I have heard this same story
recited by other tour guides prior to my departure in 2005. I believe this constitutes as “breeding”
primates since the WAO is aware the animals are breed, has failed to
stop the primates from breeding, and apparently made no attempt to resolve the
issue. Undoubtedly, the primates at Talley Road
Ms. Minchew claimed the WAO has 15 cougars living in the cougar
compound. The volunteer said she had
difficulty seeing the cougars and was not sure if there were 15 cougars in the
enclosures.
When the tour started to leave Mac and Shirley’s tiger enclosure,
Ms. Minchew made it a point to distract the tour and move the tour away from
the next enclosure, which used to belong to Tag and Rungy (Tag was the largest
male tiger on the Leslie Road property and is rather hard to miss). Both tigers were originally from a farm in Minnesota
Ms. Minchew told the tour that the two patas monkeys, living in
the small enclosures next to the two parrots, were living in temporary cages
and were waiting to be moved some day into a larger enclosure. The patas monkeys have been living in
“temporary” cages for over three years as they were living in this enclosure
prior to my departure in 2005. Also,
there used to be several blue and gold macaws living in the parrot
enclosure. The video only revealed two
parrots in the enclosure. I was told by
one of the WAO employees that the blue and gold macaws were Asvestas’
privately-owned the macaws and Ms. Asvestas bred the birds and sold the
offspring. It just seemed odd that all
the macaws are now gone, leaving only two parrots in the enclosure. Several years ago, Ms. Belia told me Ms.
Asvestas sold her a parrot but she was unable to care for the bird and was
forced to return the animal to the WAO.
The WAO acquired last week six new rhesus macaques. Ms. Minchew told the tour that the animals
used to live in small separate cages and were just recently introduced to one
another. She claimed the monkeys were
getting along fine, and yet several of the primates appeared thin, with large
patches of missing hair. One particular
macaque had what looked like an injury to its tail and it did not look good on
the video. I am concerned the primates
may require medical attention. It did
not appear that the WAO followed its own quarantine procedures as the primates,
upon their arrival at the WAO, were placed on public display in the same
enclosure—probably resulting in extreme stress for the primates. Also, there used to be two baboons living in
this enclosure—where did the baboons go?
I asked the volunteer if she remembered seeing bobcats, servals,
and a caracal, named Carrie. She said
she remembered the tour guide talking about the serval and bobcats, but she did
not remember the tour guide mentioning a caracal and she does not recall the
name “Carrie.” Since this is when the
video tape ended, I do not know if Carrie is alive or not. I am concerned for the health and welfare of
this particular animal as she is the only animal of her kind at this
facility.
An empty cage exists towards the end of the tour that used to
house Jinx and Jambo. I have no doubt
this cage will not remain empty for very long.
I pray someone from your Office will be able to check on the
status of the lions (including the physical whereabouts of Tarzan), tigers,
baboons, rhesus macaques, caracal, and the rest of the WAO animals list above,
very soon. If you have any questions
concerning this letter, or if you require a copy of the May 3rd tour
tape, please feel free to contact me via e-mail.
Your kind consideration of my request would be greatly
appreciated.
Warm regards,
Kristina Brunner
From:<> <>Kristina Brunner
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 8:39 PM
To: Breathwit, Valerie
Subject: Thank you!
To: Breathwit, Valerie
Subject: Thank you!
Greetings Val!
Thank you again for helping me with this case! I just finished sending my report and I pray someone from the USDA will go out and check on the missing caracal, baboons, and tigers and provide health care to the injuried rhesus macaques (monkeys). Without you, I don't think I would have records of the new animal arrivals, let alone what happened to the animals that are now missing. YOU are awesome.... Again, thank you for all your help - it really made a difference - Kris
On Tuesday, May 6, 2008 8:20 AM, "Breathwit, Valerie" <vbreathwit@bexar.org> wrote:
I am glad my going helped you in some way. These beautiful animals need a voice and they are so blessed to have you as theirs. God bless you Kris!
May 20, 2008
May 22, 2008
On Thursday, May 22, 2008 11:34 AM, Kristina Brunner wrote:
Greetings Dr. Pannill:
Do you happen to know what happened to two Bengal tigers named Tag and Rumby? The tigers were located in an enclosure in between Mac and Shirley and Lulu (center enclosure across from the cougars)? The last video I have of the enclosure, dated May 2008, shows this cage may be empty.
It is my understanding the WAO received 3 tigers from the New Orleans area and I was wondering if the new arrivals were placed in possibly empty enclosure (Tag and Rumby), or the enclosure that was occuppied originally by Jambo (died last year) and Jinx (moved to enclosure next to Sheba, Sebastian and Leo).
Any information would be most appreciated - thank you in advance, Dr. Pannill -
Kind Regards,
Kristina
On Thursday, May 22, 2008 3:35 PM, "Elizabeth.C.Pannill@usda.gov" <Elizabeth.C.Pannill@usda.gov> wrote:
I can check on my next inspection . I don't recall an empty cage in that location .
On Thursday, May 22, 2008 5:16 PM, Kristina Brunner <kbrunner@t> wrote:
Greetings Dr. Pannill:
It might be filled with 2-3 new tigers from the NO area, but up to earlier this year, the cage was occupied by Tag and Rumby. Thanks for checking on the tigers. Could you also include Carrie the caracal and the 2 baboons on your list of animals to check up on? The 2 baboons are being temporarily housed at WAO for Peaceable Primates and I'm willing to bet they were moved to Talley Road to make room for the rhesus macaques now living in the former baboon enclosure. The tour that went out earlier this month said they did not see Carrie living with the bobcats and I'm concerned she may not be with the WAO anymore.
And finally, the WAO said in a past newsletter they were caring for baby bobcats - could you check on the baby bobcats to make sure they are okay. The WAO claimed they also received piglets recently. Could you also check on the piglets? WAO does not have a very good track record when it comes to long term care for pigs. WAO claimed the piglets were turned in by a lady in their last newsletter (May 2008).
Thanks for checking on the animals, Dr. Pannill - It's been unbelievable hot in San Antonio and I pray the animals have clean drinking water to help keep them cool!
Kind Regards,
Kristina
May 26, 2008
Greetings Jeanette:Not a good day...attached is the latest WAO newsletter...brace yourself...k
I'll bet she's laughing all over her sick, sadistic self for getting more pigs, not to mention more animals. I am surprised she didn't send me a newsletter just to make her point....point being she can do, and does, any damn thing she wants to, to those animals and we can't touch her.
I am positive she will burn in hell.
June 5, 2008
Sent: 06/05/2008 07:55 PM EDT
To: Robert Gibbens
Subject: WAO Update
Greetings Dr. Gibbens:
Just a quick note, checking in to see if a court date has been set yet
regarding the WAO case? Any news on this front?
Even though it's been 2 years, I'm still very concerned about what is
happening at the WAO and all the recent animal deaths -- especially since
the weather has been as hot as 98+ degrees with a heat index of 105+
degrees.
By chance, are you able to confirm whether or not Tag and Rumby are still
alive at Leslie Road? The last tour video shot in May 2008 showed an empty
cage and I'm concerned about the animals' whereabouts.
Any information would be most appreicated -
Kind Regards,
Kristina Brunner
To: "kbrunner"
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2008 10:06 PM
Subject: Re: WAO Update
> Ms. Brunner - my understanding is that a hearing date has not been set.
>
> I forwarded a request to Dr. Pannill to see if she has any information on
> Tag and Rumby.
>
> Robert M. Gibbens, DVM
> Director, Western Region
> USDA, APHIS, Animal Care
| "Kristina Brunner" wrote: 6/06/2008 07:45 PM |
To
| <Robert.M.Gibbens@aphis.usda.gov> |
Thank you, Dr. Gibbens - I appreciate Dr. Pannill checking on Tag and Rumby. By the way, today I learned via interet, the 2007 IFAW National Wildlife Rehabilitation Conference Proceeding minutes reported finacing the relocation of a tiger, lioness and a cougar from a family-run facility in Massachusetts to the WAO. The report also indicated IFAW's ER program paid for the relocation, including transport and new enclosures for the animals. Since there were no new enclosures built at the Leslie Road property as of May 2008, I'm concerned the animals may have been "blended" with other existing groups (ie. cougar group at Leslie and tiger group at Talley) based on past practices and that no new enclosures were built to separately house these animals. As you may recall in my past reports, Ms. Asvestas has a policy not to house animals singularly and if the animals could not be blended with existing groups, the animals would be euthanized. The only exception to this rule thus far has been Lulu, female tiger, as she is housed in a smaller enclousure alone. Terry Minchew repeatedly told tour groups in 2007 and 2008 the WAO planned to introduce her to an existing group soon and needless to say, I'm concerned about Lulu's health and welfare if the WAO actually follows through with this plan.
It would not be a first time that the WAO claimed to need money to build animal enclosures from past owners or animal groups. Instead of building new enclosures, the WAO would place the animals in existing enclosures (ex: Tarzan, Sabu, tigers from Pahrump, etc) and spent the donated money elsewhere. Based on past records, it appears the WAO derrives a good portion of its immediate income from private owners or animal organizations funding animal relocations to its facility.
If this indeed took place, I'm concerned the cougar may not have survived its introduction to the cougar group, as many other cougars did not survive their introduction period in the past. I am also concerned about the tiger and lionness as they too may not have surrived their introduction to the large cat groups (tiger group and the alleged lion pride), especially if they were raised singularly.
Would it be possible for Dr. Pannill to check on these animals as well to ensure the cougar, lioness and tiger are still alive and living in enclosures specially built for their needs?
Again, many thanks in advance for your assistance in this matter -
Kind Regards,
Kristina Brunner
It would not be a first time that the WAO claimed to need money to build animal enclosures from past owners or animal groups. Instead of building new enclosures, the WAO would place the animals in existing enclosures (ex: Tarzan, Sabu, tigers from Pahrump, etc) and spent the donated money elsewhere. Based on past records, it appears the WAO derrives a good portion of its immediate income from private owners or animal organizations funding animal relocations to its facility.
If this indeed took place, I'm concerned the cougar may not have survived its introduction to the cougar group, as many other cougars did not survive their introduction period in the past. I am also concerned about the tiger and lionness as they too may not have surrived their introduction to the large cat groups (tiger group and the alleged lion pride), especially if they were raised singularly.
Would it be possible for Dr. Pannill to check on these animals as well to ensure the cougar, lioness and tiger are still alive and living in enclosures specially built for their needs?
Again, many thanks in advance for your assistance in this matter -
Kind Regards,
Kristina Brunner
Robert.M.Gibbens@aphis.usda.gov wrote:
Ms. Brunner:
Dr. Pannill has this information and will check on all of the animals during her next inspection visit, including the ones you have pointed out to us.
Robert M. Gibbens, DVM
Director, Western Region
USDA, APHIS, Animal Care
2150 Centre Ave., Bldg B
Ft. Collins, CO 80526
(970)494-7478
Thank you, Dr. Gibbens -
Regards,
Kristina
June 10, 2008
From: "Cutter, Christopher" <ccutter@ifaw.org>
To: Kristina Brunner
Sent: Tue, June 10, 2008 8:53:43 AM
Subject: RE: National Wildlife Rehabilitation Conference Proceedings 2007 Report
Hey Kristina:
Yes, we did relocate some animals from a private zoo on Cape Cod to WAO. The details of this move predate me (I've been here 5 years) but I think it happened 8 or 9 years ago. I believe it was one of the first things we did with WAO and Carol Asvestas.
If you want more info than that, let me know, I'd have to dig it up. It's so old I don't think it even is on our website anymore. In general, we've been working with Carol and WAO for a number of years and have helped WAO purchase more land and build more shelters for the animals. We've done at least 5 or more moves there. IFAW has also worked with WAO staff on quality of care to assure that the animals there which, unfortunately won't be translocated back to the wild, live out their lives with the best possible care. As you know, most of the animals at WAO have come from some kind of abusive situation.
Chris
Chris Cutter
IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare)
Office (US): 508-744-2066
Mobile (US): 508-737-4623ccutter@ifaw.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Duratovic, Tania
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 9:20 PM
To: Kristina Brunner
Cc: Cutter, Christopher
Subject: RE: National Wildlife Rehabilitation Conference Proceedings
2007 Report
Hi Kristina. Thanks for your interest in our work (and for reading my paper for the conference last year!) I have referred your query to Chris Cutter, our Programs Communications Manager in our Headquarters in the US as he knows about that situation you are referring to, whereas I wasn't actually involved. He will be able to help you (thanks, Chris).
Again, thank you for your interest in IFAW and I'm amazed that someone in Texas actually found & read that paper I did for our National Rehab Conference way over here in Australia. The wonders of modern technology....
Regards,
Tania
-----Original Message-----
From: Kristina Brunner
Sent: Thu 6/5/2008 9:15 PM
To: Duratovic, Tania
Subject: National Wildlife Rehabilitation Conference Proceedings 2007
Report
Dear Tania Duratovic:
I just finished reading your report on the internet and was curious to learn more about the recent animal rescue mentioned in the report involving the Wild Animal Orphanage, which is located in San Antonio.
As Orphanage for over 12 years now, and was surprised to read the WAO received a tiger, lioness and cougar from a family-runned facility in Massachusetts. I didn't hear any report regarding the rescue on the news or internet, so I was wondering if you could share some details about this story (when did the rescue take place, the circumstances, cost to relocate and build new homes, etc)?
Thanks so much in advance!
Sincerely,
Ms. Brunner
a resident of San Antonio, I've been following the Wild Animal
No comments:
Post a Comment