March 24, 2022, was the two year anniversary of the fire at Wisconsin’s now closed Special Memories Zoo that burned alive 35 animals and revealed the decaying corpses of another 18 animals on the property. Gretchen Crowe, who was responsible for caring for the animals, told investigators she hadn’t checked on them since January, indicating some of the animals may have been lying dead on the property for months before investigators stumbled across their decaying bodies. Gretchen Crowe remains free, and there has been no justice for the dozens of animals that suffered and died at Special Memories Zoo.

All of the work we do at Roadside Zoo News is dedicated to the animals at Special Memories Zoo that no one saved. Their deaths must not be in vain. In their memory, we speak up for the animals abused and neglected at roadside zoos. In their memory, we work to change the laws that allow this horrific cruelty to continue unmitigated. May the animals that perished rest in peace and may their memory live on to prevent other animals from suffering the same fate at roadside zoos.