Capybara Café opened in Fort Lauderdale's Thrive District on September 17, charging customers to pet and feed capybaras, ferrets, opossums, a porcupine and an armadillo. Within weeks, serious questions about how these animals are cared for have stacked up. The Fort Lauderdale City Commission needs to open a full investigation now.

A July 2025 inspection report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says four young capybaras died at Noah's Ark Sanctuary, the nonprofit that runs the café, between December 2024 and July 2025. Two showed signs of being bitten by other capybaras. The inspector found the facility lacked enough properly trained staff to give its animals a basic standard of care. The owner disputes the report and says she has appealed it.

The concerns go further. In September, the city cited a Fort Lauderdale house owned by the nonprofit twice: once for building a cage and pond without a permit, and once for housing banned wild animals such as capybaras. Separately, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has charged the owner with a misdemeanor for allegedly failing to report a lemur bite on an employee at the St. Augustine location.

Even so, Commissioner Steve Glassman says there are no plans to investigate, telling the South Florida Sun Sentinel he doesn't see "anything so serious" to justify it.

Popularity on social media is no substitute for proper care. Fort Lauderdale has rules about wild animals in neighborhoods, and those rules should apply to every business equally. The City Commission and City Attorney should investigate Capybara Café, enforce the code violations already on record, and make sure any animal found at risk is moved to an accredited sanctuary.

Sign the petition to demand Fort Lauderdale investigate Capybara Café before another animal pays the price.