No animal should live like this.

In May, authorities raided West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon, Oregon — and what they found was horrific. Over 300 animals were rescued from filthy, inhumane conditions: lions so emaciated their ribs and spines jutted out, a chimpanzee left in solitary confinement for 18 months, and a lioness trapped in a dark, unventilated enclosure soaked in urine and feces. Some animals died before help arrived — like Sugar and Spice, two bears shot dead, or Wilma the baboon, found with bite wounds on her body.

But this didn’t happen overnight. It happened because our current laws failed to protect them.

Despite over 100 federal citations, the USDA never shut this place down. They had the power — civil penalties, license revocation, even animal seizures — and still, they let West Coast Game Park continue. Even after officials found meth, cocaine, and illegal firearms on-site, the owner still holds a USDA license to exhibit animals.

Enough is enough.

That’s why we’re calling on Congress to pass the Better CARE for Animals Act (H.R.3112/S.1538). This bipartisan bill would finally give the Department of Justice the tools to step in when the USDA fails to act — allowing real enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act before animals suffer and die.

These animals had no voice. They relied on people to protect them — and too many looked away.

We’re grateful to the Oregon officials and humane society staff who stepped in. But we can’t let another roadside zoo become a death trap while federal agencies do nothing. The Better CARE for Animals Act would close that gap and ensure animals are never again left to languish while red tape stalls action.

Let’s make sure the suffering at West Coast Game Park was the last of its kind. Tell Congress: pass the Better CARE for Animals Act now.