Bison video uncovers less-than-ideal conditions for animals
Wednesday, March 18, 2015, 12:59 PM - After a video featuring a bison went viral earlier this month, all eyes are now on the farm the animal lives on as allegations of potential animal cruelty have come forward.
The video was uploaded after a visit to the Washington-based Olympic Game Farm. The location has been open for more than 40 years and has more than 200 animals onsite including bears, llamas and even a tiger.
According to Olympic Game Farm, the animals come from rescues, overflow from other facilities or received as gift donations from "licensed or properly authorized individuals."
Caroline Walker Evans—the 28-year-old Seattle native that uploaded the bison footage—told the Huffington Post that she didn't think the animals were living in adequate living conditions.
"We've received a lot of complaints over the years," said Rachel Bjork, president of the Northwest Animals Rights Network to the Huffington Post.
The organization checked out the facility and explained that the animals were indeed living in less-than-ideal conditions.
"It's incredibly boring [for the animals]. They don't have much enrichment," she said ."Big cats were in small cages. They're just standing there in their little pens."
The president of Olympic Game Farm Robert Beebe doesn't agree. According to Beebe every animal has an area visible to visitor but a much larger area that isn't.
But experts think the animals are showing some signs of unhappiness.
"[Pacing is] an indicator for stress," Susan Bass told the Huffington Post. Bass is the PR director for Big Cat Rescue. "If they don't' have a place to hide like a den, there'll be a lot of pacing. [For example,] when zoos are open for visiting hours, they have the animals where they have to be on display, and it leads to pacing."
Source: Huffington Post
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