For more than a decade, a chimpanzee named George lived alone at a roadside zoo in Bandon, Oregon. No other chimps. No socialization. Just isolation in a facility where animals were malnourished, enclosures were filthy and death records went missing.

Last spring, police raided West Coast Game Park Safari. What they found was horrifying. Dozens of neglected animals. Drugs. Over a million dollars in cash. More than a hundred weapons.

The owner, Brian Tenney, has now pleaded guilty to 47 charges including 43 counts of animal neglect. Prosecutors are recommending 90 months in prison.

But here is the part that gives us hope.

George is now at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in Washington, socializing with other primates for the first time. He just celebrated his 22nd birthday with plates of fresh fruit. A jaguar named Louie, rescued from the same facility, now lives at The Wildcat Sanctuary in Minnesota where he is thriving and sponsored by a local basketball team.

These animals deserved so much better. And they finally have it.

Now we need to make sure no animal ever has to wait a decade for someone to notice. The USDA cited this zoo dozens of times for Animal Welfare Act violations before anything was done. That is not oversight. That is negligence.

We are calling on Congress to strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act and close the loopholes that allow roadside zoos to keep operating despite repeated violations.

Sign this petition and tell Congress: George's story should never happen again.

photo: peta