[FEL-L] RE: NC - Endangered Animals Seized, Drugs Found Near Local Zoo

[Bigcats10 at aol.com]

Endangered Animals Seized, Drugs Found Near Local Zoo
POSTED: 4:37 pm EDT July 25, 2006
UPDATED: 5:34 pm EDT July 25, 2006
ROCKWELL, N.C. -- State and federal agents seized endangered animals from a 
local exotic  animal park that was temporarily shut down.  
Officials said they found drugs and guns inside the owner's home right  near 
the children's exhibits at the Metrolina Wildlife Park.  
Located in Rowan County, the park has venomous snakes, exotic birds,  wolves, 
bears, and big cats including tigers and lions. There's also a petting  zoo.  
About 500 people visited the park in Rockwell just last week.  
Undercover officers got a tip about some native wildlife being held  
illegally and executed a search warrant on Tuesday.  
Investigators said the zoo owner, Steve Macaluso, did not have the proper  
permits for several box turtles, turkeys, snakes, a hawk and an owl, but while  
searching his home on the property, they also found guns, drugs and video 
poker  machines. They hauled off the machines in a truck and seized the endangered 
 animals.  
Macaluso takes the blame for not knowing about the special permits  required 
and said the drugs found were prescription sleeping pills and the guns  were 
hunting rifles. As for the video machines, he said they're from New Jersey  and 
have been in storage for years.  
The park has been in the news many times before and the internet contains  
dozens of hits using the owner’s name.  
He's been criticized by the animal rights group, PETA, who said he's been  
cited numerous times for unsafe handling of animals.  
About 10 years ago, a chimpanzee escaped from the zoo for about a week  and 
bit someone before it was re-captured.  
 
Copyright 2006 by _WSOCTV.com_ (mailto:charnews at wsoctv.com) . All rights 
reserved. This  material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or  
redistributed.

_http://www.wsoctv.com/news/9573557/detail.html_ 
(http://www.wsoctv.com/news/9573557/detail.html) 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.breuckman.com/pipermail/felines-l/attachments/20060726/0d03ae66/attachment.html