USDA files complaint against Dade City Wild Things
August 23, 2015
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DADE CITY -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has filed a complaint against the Pasco County zoo, Dade City Wild Things.
The complaint lists various instances going back to 2010 where the USDA says Wild Things violated the Animal Welfare Act, stating that the zoo “has continued to mishandle animals, particularly infant and juvenile tigers, exposing these animals and the public to injury, disease, and harm.”
The complaint took issue with the zoo’s main attraction, the ability for patrons to swim with tigers.
Randy Stearns, head trainer at Wild Things, said the claims are outrageous.
“We’ve been doing the swims with the tigers now for a decade with zero incidents with the public or animals,” Randy said.
The filing lists instances throughout the years of tigers being ‘visibly stressed,’ experiencing ‘obvious discomfort’ and Randy ‘pulling the tigers tail.’ Randy said the situations are taken out of context.
“We’ve had people take video of literally a cat opening up his mouth to get a toy and they’ll crop out the toy and say ‘oh he’s screaming or yelling and things like that,” Randy said.
Randy said he has no doubt about what his organization does.
“We believe what we’re doing is right, we’re proud of what we do,” he said. “These are our babies; these are our babies that we spend hours caring for.”
Randy said he believes organizations like the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed false complaints against his organization with the USDA. PETA disagrees and released the following statement:
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) lawsuit against Wild Things details a litany of alleged violations of federal regulations, including such abuses as forcing a baby tiger to swim, despite his repeated cries of distress and attempts to escape the pool. Wild Things makes $200 a pop on these cheap stunts, only to discard the babies inside tiny cages after just a few months. PETA has filed numerous complaints with the USDA against Wild Things, and we know that the agency is doing the right thing by throwing the book at this animal-abusing company.”
The owners of Dade City Wild Things will not settle the allegations and plans to fight the allegations in court.
“We know we’re in the right and most of this is going to get kicked out,” Randy said.
In the meantime, the zoo is open for business as usual.Dade City zoo ordered to stop letting tourists swim with tigers
March 8, 2017
DADE CITY — The United States Department of Agriculture has ordered Dade City's Wild Things to end its tiger cub swimming encounters and pay a $21,000 fine for exposing the animals to "rough or excessive public handling."
The order, issued Feb. 15 and effective March 22, found the zoo's swim program broke the law when it allowed tigers to be harmed during handling and exposed people to dangerous conditions four times between September 2011 and October 2012.
The decision follows a lawsuit the USDA filed in July 2015 citing Animal Welfare Act violations. A lawsuit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed in October, alleging the zoo's encounter program violates the Endangered Species Act, is still pending.
A bill called the Big Cats and Public Safety Act, which would ban the private possession of exotic cats as pets and use in public encounters, is also pending in Congress.
Dade City's Wild Things, owned by Kathy and Randy Stearns, has until March 17 to appeal. The order also requires they suspend exhibiting its animals to the public for 60 days. Kathy Stearns did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
"We're pleased that the USDA clamped down on this most egregious violator of animal-welfare law, knowing that Dade City's Wild Things has been making money by forcing distressed tiger cubs into swimming pools for customer photos," PETA's Brittany Peet said. "PETA looks forward to proving in court its allegations that Dade City's Wild Things is harming and harassing these endangered animals."
Dade City's Wild Things blocks PETA officials at gates for court-ordered site inspection
July 20, 2017
DADE CITY — Dade City's Wild Things founder Kathy Stearns refused to let People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals officials enter her facility on Thursday for a court-ordered inspection, court filings show.
The inspection was granted by a federal judge so PETA experts could observe the care and housing of 22 tigers on the property. PETA sued Wild Things in October, alleging its tiger cub encounter business, in which visitors can pay to cuddle or swim with weeks-old cubs, violates the Endangered Species Act.
A judge had granted an emergency injunction July 14, ordering Stearns not to remove any of the tigers from the zoo after PETA officials said they learned Stearns "was scheming to transfer its tigers" before the scheduled inspection.
But on Sunday, 19 tigers arrived at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma after a 1,200-mile journey on a cattle truck, entertainment director Joe Maldonado confirmed. Maldonado said a pregnant tiger gave birth during the haul and all three cubs died.
He said he did not know the whereabouts of the other three tigers cited in the court order.
The day before the inspection, Stearns' attorney William J. Cook emailed PETA legal counsel stating "Since there are no tigers at the facility, there is nothing to inspect and we will not be doing an inspection."
Cook petitioned the court on Tuesday, requesting to withdraw as Stearns attorney. Cook stated he had notified Stearns of the order for her not to remove the animals the same day it was filed.
"It is her view that she is not legally bound to do what she cannot do — show them tigers," Cook wrote on Wednesday. "She is also saying that my motion to withdraw led her to believe that the inspection was not going to happen."
On Thursday PETA filed a motion asking the judge not grant Stearns' request to delay a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
Contact Tracey McManus at tmcmanus@tampabay.com or (727) 445-4151. Follow @TroMcManus.
Wild Things head trainer charged with exposing himself to girls
Jul 28, 2017
A Pasco County man who helps run a popular zoo is facing sexual misconduct charges involving children.
Randy Stearns calls himself “The Tiger Man.”
He is listed on the web as President and Head Trainer for Dade City’s Wild Things.
But now the Tampa native is facing disturbing charges in St. Charles County, Missouri.
According to a grand jury indictment, Stearns exposed himself to three girls under the age of 15 on June 25th, 2016.
The indictment filed in September lists eight counts of sexual misconduct alleged to have happened at the Embassy Suites hotel where Stearns was staying for a convention.
It says Stearns exposed himself as the girls got off the elevator and headed towards their room.
According to investigators, the victims went back in the hallway 10 minutes later and Stearns was still there with his penis exposed through the zipper of his jeans.
The victims say he tired to get closer to them and kept talking to them.
During the investigation, it was reported Stearns exposed himself in his room to someone only identified by initials. This incident allegedly happened earlier in the evening.
Stearns has been in the public eye in recent years as Dade City Wild Things made headlines for its close encounter attraction with baby tigers.
That includes the controversial practice of swimming with them.
The US Department of Agriculture eventually fined Wild Things for its treatment of the tigers and and ordered them to stop letting people swim with them.
Stearns attorney said his client denies the allegations and will fight them in court. We left a message with Randy Stearns mother, the owner of Wild Things, but haven’t heard back.
