• Join our letter-writing campaign to end the abuse of animals in roadside hellholes by responding to zoo-related action alerts.

• Monitor roadside zoos in your area. Document animals who appear sick,injured, or distressed by heat or cold, filthy conditions, stereotypic behavior, and dangerous handling practices. Use our Zoo Cruelty Checklist as a guide. File complaints of inadequate care with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA/APHIS/AC, 4700 River Rd., Unit 84, Riverdale, MD 20737-1232, phone 301-734-7833) and local humane enforcement agencies. Ask the USDA for copies of inspection reports (see "Researching the Facts" in PETA's Activist Guide). If the zoo is affiliated with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, request that its accreditation be revoked (AZA, 8403 Colesville Rd., Suite 710, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3314, phone 301-562-0777, fax 301-562-0888). Organize a demonstration to highlight miserable conditions and distribute leaflets. Contact PETAís campaign department at 757-622-PETA if you need help.

• Ask your state and local tourism bureaus and the chamber of commerce for their support in getting roadside zoos and safari parks improved or dismantled. These inferior attractions are an embarrassment to the community.

• Ask animal control and state wildlife agencies not to place confiscated or rescued wildlife at inappropriate facilities. The animals may be mistreated or used for breeding, which compounds the problem of homeless native and non-native wildlife. Animal control would never turn a rescued dog over to a puppy mill or pet shop, but these agencies routinely turn wildlife over to pseudo-sanctuaries and roadside zoos.

• Urge sponsors not to support cruel exhibits or endanger public safety by featuring traveling zoos. Sponsors seldom investigate a traveling zoo’s background. Check the factsheets on PETA’s WildlifePimps.com to see if the exhibitor is listed. If not, contact the USDA for inspection reports. You can use violations of the Animal Welfare Act and PETA’s list of animal attacks to support your position. Contact PETA at info@peta.org to obtain a copy of the video “Cheap Tricks” narrated by Alec Baldwin, which depicts the cruelty in traveling animal shows. Work to get traveling animal acts banned in your city or county. Download or order an animal display ban pack here.

• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper. Help dispel the myths that operators of roadside zoos are conservationists and that pseudo-sanctuaries help wildlife. Refer to PETA’s Quick Facts for points to make.

• Voice objections if a local television news station or talk show features an in-studio visit from someone associated with a traveling zoo. Jack Hanna and Jim Fowler frequently appear on national talk shows using baby animals—who should be with their mothers—as stage props. Oftentimes, the animals are clearly stressed or uncomfortable. These so-called educational displays are more like infomercials for the exotic pet trade.

• Urge your local municipal zoological park to curtail breeding and make space available for homeless wildlife, as a few AZA zoos have already done. Between 1992 and 1998, AZA zoos sent nearly 7,500 surplus animals to dealers, auctions, hunting ranches, individuals, and roadside zoos.

• Ask local newspapers not to carry classified ads for the sale of native or exotic wildlife.

• Contact your homeowners insurance provider to ask that, if they have not already done so, they implement a policy against insuring individuals who keep exotic animals, due to liability concerns.

• Start a campaign to shut down novelty displays. Write letters asking management to implement more humane publicity stunts or mascots that do not involve live animals.

• Pet shops selling small exotic animals called "pocket pets" (hedgehogs, sugar gliders, prairie dogs, jerboas, spiny mice, etc.) may not be aware that they must be licensed as USDA Class B dealers. Check with the USDA to see if the store has or needs a license. Review PETA’s factsheet on pet shops for additional ideas.

ï Start a campaign to end the private ownership of exotic animals and public contact with dangerous animals in your community. Work to get private possession of exotic animals banned in your locality. Download or order an exotic animal ordinance pack here.

• Visit The Association of Sanctuaries’ Web site for information on its project to prevent the keeping of wild animals as “pets” and for tips on how you can help.

• Before you decide to support a sanctuary, investigate its practices and animal care record. If it engages in or condones unsavory activities, such as owning, breeding, buying, and selling exotic animals, or drags animals around for use in "educational" programs, it is not serving the best interest of the animals.

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