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Los Angeles: Stop the Horror Show at Griffith Park Pony Rides & Petting Zoo

Los Angeles: Stop the Horror Show at Griffith Park Pony Rides & Petting Zoo

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Griffith Park Pony Rides and Petting Zoo in Los Angeles is abusing and neglecting elderly ponies, horses, and farmed animals in its care. Urge Los Angeles Recreation and Park Commissioners and General Manager Michael Shull to cancel and not renew Griffith Park Pony Rides and Petting Zoo's contract, replace the park with a non-animal model, and send all of the animals to a sanctuary. Los Angeles Alliance for Animals has documented footage of depressed elderly ponies on the turnstile not receiving water for almost seven hours, elderly ponies being overworked with no protection against hot temperatures, elderly ponies being hit for several hours to provide rides to children, rabbits sitting in the hot sun with no shade, and no water in the petting zoo over the summer.

Watch this heartbreaking video of animal suffering at Griffith Park Pony Rides and Petting Zoo.

Due to a large public outcry, the City of Los Angeles assigned a third-party equine expert to report on the well-being of the ponies and horses at Griffith Park Pony Rides. The expert reported ponies with saddle sores, hoof ailments, lameness, and dental problems. There was no identification method for any of the animals, no windbreaks with poor drainage during the winter months of rain, and no preventative dental care for the animals. Shockingly, the owner Stephen Weeks submitted expense reports to the expert instead of veterinary records.

Many of these animals have been and still are forced to work for almost seven hours without proper rest, even in temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Elderly horses and ponies continue to be overworked and recently a sheep was seen in distress.

This concession disregards animal welfare and poses a risk to children. Last year, a child was reportedly dragged by a pony after her saddle slipped, and the pony continued dragging her body because the pony was spooked. This was a traumatic experience for everyone involved and could happen again.

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