This is personal to our community because what is happening to Wildlife Wonderland has raised serious concerns about how Polk County’s animal ordinance is being enforced and what that could mean for every responsible animal owner who calls this county home.

Wildlife Wonderland provides specialized habitats, veterinary oversight, species appropriate care, safety measures, and standards of care that in many areas go well beyond minimum federal requirements. Yet the organization is now facing enforcement that could force animals from the property they were brought here to call home.

That has left many residents asking a frightening question: If this can happen to them, could it happen to us next?

Polk County is home to families with reptiles, exotic pets, horses, livestock, exotic hoofstock, farm animals, dogs, cats, and countless other animals. People should not have to live in fear that one future ordinance change could suddenly force them to choose between their animals and remaining in the community they call home.

The concern also goes beyond the animals currently addressed by this ordinance. Residents worry about the precedent being created and whether future regulations could place increasingly restrictive limits on other responsible animal owners including the number or types of dogs, cats, livestock, horses, farm animals, or other legally owned animals residents may keep.

This is not about asking for a county without rules. We support reasonable regulations that protect animals, residents, and public safety. We are asking for those regulations to be reasonable, fairly enforced, and developed with transparency and meaningful input from the people who will actually be affected by them.

We are standing together because responsible animal ownership should be protected, and Polk County residents deserve a voice in laws that can profoundly affect their animals, their property, and their way of life.

Today it is Wildlife Wonderland. We do not want to wait to find out who could be next.