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The American West Heritage Center in Utah is hosting two of the worst roadside zoos in the region at its annual Baby Animal Days events: Utah Petting Zoo and Yellowstone Bear World.
Since fining Utah Petting Zoo in 2021—a rare penalty reserved for the worst violators, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued Utah Petting Zoo 25 more citations for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act, including 16 citations in 2024 alone. Utah Petting Zoo citations include such atrocities as a six-month-old zebra named Zoey needing to be euthanized after falling out of and being dragged by a transport trailer, a kangaroo needing to be euthanized after suffering severe trauma due to a zebra escaping his enclosure and kicking the kangaroo in the head, a fox escaping his enclosure never to be recovered, a kinkajou named Kiki being crushed to death by a shelf in her enclosure, and a camel named Caeser found dead and entrapped under a metal shed.
Yellowstone Bear World continues its cruel and greedy business practices of breeding black bears, taking weeks-old cubs from their mothers, and forcing them into expensive and dangerous human interactions. This roadside zoo threatens the long-term health of every cub born there, and the cubs are regularly observed suckling on workers’ chins, necks, or arms—a behavior often seen in animals traumatized by premature maternal separation.
Ask American West Heritage Center to no longer partner with Utah Petting Zoo and Yellowstone Bear World in the future!