MORGANTOWN, W.Va.– The Humane Society of the United State has brought attention to a USDA report concerning Hovatter’s Wildlife Zoo near Manown in Preston County.
The write-up is categorized as a regular inspection on the conditions of two tiger cubs.
The USDA inspection indicated the cubs were not vaccinated appropriately for their age and that the cubs’ feeding plan was inadequate.
Tuesday morning, zoo owner Brian Hovatter told MetroNews affiliate WAJR his side of the story.
“Every time they come in and inspect us, we’ll get another report. That’s all this is. This is not a citation or a violation. This is a report.” Hovatter said.
As a guest on “Morgantown A.M”., Hovatter said the vaccinations required by the report have not been proven to work, and there is only one rare disease that could be passed between humans and the cubs. He has, however, had the cubs vaccinated since the inspection in early June.
Hovatter said the food concern was mainly about a type of colostrum fed to them during their first day. He said normally he allows the mother to feed them during that time, but special circumstances caused the cubs to need removal from the area earlier than usual.
The report also called for a change in how the cubs were transitioned from formula to a meat diet, which was later corrected by the zoo.
Hovatter said it is not unusual for the inspectors to find issues, and that is why the random inspections exist.
“They write us up, we fix the problems, and we move on. I’ve never been fined and never been shut down. Never,” Hovatter told WAJR.
He also said Hovatter’s Wildlife Zoo is not given special attention when it comes to the inspections.
“The same inspectors that inspect me inspect Columbus Zoo and Pittsburgh Zoo. Just because we’re a little, off the beaten path zoo doesn’t mean we’re treated any differently,” Hovatter stated.
Hovatter claims whoever leaked the story did so to give the zoo a negative image.
“It boils down to somebody not liking what we do. That’s all it is. They just took it to the next level by bringing my reports up to try to make us look even worse,” he said.
Hovatter has been raising wild cats at the zoo for more than 25 years.