NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- April Truitt's life work plays out at a peaceful sanctuary not far from Versailles, Kentucky. At the Primate Rescue Center, monkeys and chimpanzees — once pets or performers until they were surrendered by their owners — now have constant food, care and refuge.
"We provide these animals homes for the rest of their lives," Truitt said.
Friday night, she agreed to do an interview about a small zoo a hundred miles away that she's never visited but knows a lot about: Wildlife in Need, in Charlestown, Indiana.
"We all should be wondering about the welfare of those animals," Truitt said, with emotion in her voice.
At Wildlife in Need, owner Tim Stark is fighting back as the federal government tries to pull his license to exhibit his collection of lions, tigers and more to the public. The zoo offers close and personal encounters with exotic wildlife and even sold tickets for baby tiger "playtime" sessions — until that activity came under fire from animal advocates in recent years.
"Like I told all of them, you're f*****g with the wrong God d**n person," Stark said to the federal government during an interview with WDRB News Thursday.
A new 183-page document, written by a judge with the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Stark, over multiple years, has harassed federal inspectors, didn't provide vet care to sick or dying animals, and even beat a young leopard to death with a baseball bat.
Stark on Thursday blamed some of the park’s problems on “p***-poor employees,” and he said that sometimes, animals just die.
"Animals die here all the time," he responded. "Hell, I don't know off-hand. I mean, hell, we keep records of everything, but I mean, you know, s*** happens."
He continued, "You're talking about an animal, for one. You know, that number two, don't have rights. Animals don't have rights."
However, he said he does love his animals and tries his best to care for them.
Truitt, who watched the interview and read the entire report, said it's time for the Indiana Attorney General to investigate the zoo's status as a non-profit, time for the animals to be taken, and time for Wildlife in Need to permanently close.
"Please find another line of work, Mr. Stark," she said. "Leave the animals alone. Just leave them out of it. Just find some other means of making a living. Please."
But Stark said the zoo will stay open as he fights the government's attempt to pull his license.
Truitt hopes that people who are thinking about buying a Wildlife in Need ticket instead will consider her words.
"Donate your money to a real sanctuary, and for God's sake, please, for the health and welfare of yourself and your friends and your children, don't take them there," she pleaded.
Inspectors haven't examined Stark's property for years, and on Thursday, WDRB News asked Stark for a tour of his zoo to see the conditions behind the facility's gates. In the interview, he said he'd check with his board and respond to WDRB on Friday morning.
Stark did not call Friday morning, but when reached in the afternoon, he denied the request.
First, he said conditions were too cold. Then, he said, "Everything's on hold," but he has "nothing to hide," "nothing to prove," and the "truth will prevail."
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