Wildlife World Zoo Director to Stepdown from Duties

Mickey Ollson Zoo Director at Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Arizona is not fit to be zoo director and should step down. Ollson has been director for over 30 years during which the zoo has been open and he has made it a place where employees are attacked by animals, animals are inbred, babies are taken away shortly after birth for side show attractions until they are later sold to road-side circuses and animals in the zoo are given just enough care to keep them alive, sometimes.

Not only is Ollson the director of the zoo, but he is also the owner. Everything that happens at the zoo goes through him, even though he is not qualified or knowledgeable about animals. He is misinformed on basic animal husbandry concepts and is so behind in modern animal science, that his own zoo keepers call the facility “stuck in the 80s.”

I was able to sit down on the phone with Ollson to talk about issues in the zoo, during which he gave wildly inaccurate statements about the animals. Later to confirm my concerns, I spoke with animal experts around the US to get their opinion on certain animal husbandry that was confirmed by Ollson to be happening inside the zoo. All of these professionals confirmed my suspicions that the animals are not receiving the standard of care that zoos should be knowledgeable in.

But not only are the animals being hurt by the zoo, so are the humans that work there. While the zoo is acrediated by ZAA, it appears that they have violated several standards of ZAA. A jaguar attacked a zoo visitor back in March of 2019, when she leaned over(not crossed) a barer to take a photo. One incident might not be a big deal, but in this case that was the 4th person this animal is known to have attacked. Another zoo keeper unaware that the animal could reach its paws out of the enclosure all the way up to the shoulder blade, was attacked while working at the zoo. Employees of the zoo are afraid to report injuries that happen on the job, and suggested that they have the local zoo veterinarian care for the wound. However the zoo keeper wanted medical attention, so instead of calling 911 and in order to avoid more attention, another worker was told to drive the zoo keeper to the hospital. She ended up with more sutures than they could count and lost the use of her arms for several months.

Zoo keepers are afraid to speak out, because Ollson doesn’t like to be challenged, but they have spoken to me, telling me that the animals are not given enrichment, they are fed species inappropriate diets, the animals are not given veterinary care and in many cases animals have died from simple things that could have been prevented. On top of all that, inbreeding happens often inside the zoo, resulting in babies born with illness, birth defects and suffer before dying. Healthy babies have the misfortune of having a zoo director who knows very little about animals in general and sees their worth as merely props to drive in more people, using the babies in petting zoos and side show attractions away from the baby animal’s family. Then the baby is sold when its too old for the nursery and too behaviorally damaged to be safe and cute for the spectators. And the extra money from this inhumane breeding project is not going to the animals to better their lives in captivity, its just lining Ollson’s pocket.

Now I was able to talk to Ollson to ask him basic questions about the animals, like is he aware the parrots are self-mutilating by pulling their feathers off from boredom, or why are the llamas suffering in Arizona’s 110 degree summer with all their fleece left on their body year after year? And he told me he was an expert in these things and I just didn’t know better. Feather plucking is just a thing they do and wool that doesn’t shed with the seasons is just insulation from the heat, Ollson states. But when I interviewed a biologist, an animal rescuer, an animal trainer and professional animal shearer, they gave me information that was completely against what Ollson claimed. If you would like to see what these animal professionals had to say about these topics, please watch my video where I break down everything wrong with Wildlife World Zoo and why Ollson needs to step down as director.

https://youtu.be/FdNW9XrkqXw

To end this, I want to say, I love zoos that provide education, conservation, animal enrichment and so much more. But Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Arizona is not any of those things. And that’s all because the private owner thinks he is qualified to be director. We could say, lets close down this zoo that has clearly broken the standards its accredited with, but then you have 7,000 displaced animals and 25 un employed zoo keepers. That’s right only 25. But those 25 zoo keepers care about the animals and want to do what is best for the animals. The problem here is Ollson.

Mr. Ollson, step down as zoo director. Hire someone that is qualified, given them control of the zoo so that they can provide the correct care that the animals need. Bring in experts and consultants to implement changes in the zoo so that the animals not just survive (sometimes) but really thrive in captivity. No Mr. Ollson, a bird with a bald chest is not thriving, its barely surviving. Hire more staff so that the zoo keepers can do their job the correct way and let them perform up to date welfare practices that are now standard in zoos in 2019. Show the world that your love for animals is greater than your love of money.

And the truth is, the way the zoo is going now, the money will be going soon too.

Please sign this petition to let Mr. Ollson know that what he is doing at this zoo is unacceptable. Please share this petition and the video with as many people as you can. Let the public know what is going on at this zoo.

https://youtu.be/FdNW9XrkqXw