Special Memories Zookeeper Gretchen Crowe is responsible for the neglect and death of countless animals and authorities need to press charges.

After a suspicious March 2020 barn fire at the Greenville, Wisconsin zoo’s winter location in Hortonville, which resulted in the death of more than 36 animals, authorities found an additional 16 dead and decaying animals not involved in the fire. Crowe, who was personally responsible for the daily care of those animals, said she hadn’t checked on them since January, more than two months earlier.  

Crowe has a history of willful and deliberate animal neglect, with police reports dating back to 2008, when informants told county officials more than half of the zoo animals had starved to death and were buried on the property.  

Former employee testimonials, photographic and video evidence, police reports and USDA reports all document the deliberate animal neglect at the hands of Zookeeper Crowe. Even after witnessing the animal neglect first-hand, authorities still declined to press charges. 

According to Wisconsin state legislature:

951.02  Mistreating animals. No person may treat any animal, whether belonging to the person or another, in a cruel manner. 

Gretchen Crowe’s mistreatment of the animals at Special Memories Zoo was deliberate, cruel and intentional. It has been documented in numerous reports to the USDA and in photographic evidence taken by zoo employees and authorities.

951.13  Providing proper food and drink to confined animals. No person owning or responsible for confining or impounding any animal may fail to supply the animal with a sufficient supply of food and water.

Zookeeper Crowe failed to provide many of the animals with food or water, and the food they were provided was contaminated with botulism, according to a May 2020 police report. Employees report the animals' food and water polluted with rodent droppings, animals fed inadequate or inappropriate diets, and instances when Crowe did not feed or water the animals at all. 

951.14  Providing proper shelter. No person owning or responsible for confining or impounding any animal may fail to provide the animal with proper shelter.

Zookeeper Crowe failed to provide the animals with adequate shelter. Former employees report animals freezing to death, enclosures so filled with waste the animals had no dry place to lay down, and animals crammed into tiny enclosures with no enrichment causing them extreme distress. Photographs taken by the Outagamie Sheriff’s Office show the dead carcasses of more than 16 animals decaying in various areas of the farm, including two goats who, according to Crowe, escaped their enclosure, got stuck outside and died due to exposure. 

951.15  Abandoning animals. No person may abandon any animal.

Zookeeper Crowe admitted in recorded interviews that she had not checked on the animals she was in charge of caring for in more than two months.  

It is the responsibility of the Outagamie Sheriff’s Office to reopen the Special Memories Zoo animal neglect investigation and include affidavits from the former zoo employees. They also need to include the 2008 reports of neglect, and the photographic evidence of the neglect submitted to them by a former employee in 2015. After including additional evidence, this case needs to be referred to the Outagamie District Attorney’s office for charges and Gretchen Crowe must be criminally charged for the neglect and death of countless animals at Special Memories Zoo.     

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