ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — Employees of the Lazy 5 Ranch near Mooresville are defending the care animals receive at the drive-thru zoo.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed an administrative complaint last month citing owner Henry Hampton with more than 50 violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Hampton also owns an exotic animal ranch in Ohio.
Lazy 5 Ranch was cited for the condition of some of the animals, specifically neglecting a giraffe with overgrown hooves, ignoring a deer that had multiple wounds, and allowing three sheep to walk around with a limp.
Employees denied any kind of abuse. Sarah Rogers, who's been with Lazy 5 Ranch for 15 years, said the animals named in the complaint were seen by a veterinarian, but the proper paperwork wasn't documented, which sparked the citation by the USDA.
“There are animals that have wounds," Rogers said. "There are animals that are limping; those things are addressed, and now every time when something is addressed, it’s written down.”
Rogers said the ranch is an open book. If people are concerned about the animals, they are invited to ask questions.
“We’re not perfect," Rogers told NBC Charlotte. "I just think that if we have things from the USDA that they need us to look at, then we will look at them," she said.
Rogers added that after the USDA spent some eight to ten hours at the ranch on Tuesday and then another two to three on Wednesday, the USDA issued another inspection free of complaints.
“The problem with inspections when they do write those citations is not necessarily mean that the adequate veterinary care has not been provided. It’s more of that it hasn’t been documented," she said.
Lazy 5 Ranch is home to more than 1,000 animals, exotic species from six different continents people can view from the comfort of their cars.
Rogers said the ranch will not change a thing when it comes to care, adding the staff takes pride in the way they care for the animals and hopes the miscommunication won’t be a factor in the future.
