The kangaroo, called Joey, was barely a year old when the Humane Society of the United States found her huddled with her family in a tiny, dark indoor pen. She had been born at the zoo and was kept with her parents and brother, Chandler, who was still in his mother’s pouch when the family was rescued.
At the Black Beauty Ranch near Murchison, which is run by the Humane Society, Joey is now learning to trust her caregivers and is willingly going up to them to fetch treats.
Her parents, who are also at the sanctuary, have been named Ross and Rachel.
The kangaroos were found along with over 200 other animals at the Saint-Édouard Zoo in Quebec in 2019. The animals had been living in decrepit, barren and disturbing conditions at the unaccredited facility.
Unaccredited zoos, often referred to as roadside zoos, are often operated purely for profit and entertainment, rather than conservation. Larger accredited zoos are more reputable facilities will often try to replicate the animal’s natural environment. At roadside zoos, animals are kept in smaller enclosures with limited access to physical and psychological enrichment.
In 2021, the former owner of the zoo pleaded guilty to animal welfare violations relating to how and where the animals were kept, including inadequate and unsanitary facilities. There was also a lack of veterinary care provided for the animals.
CBC reported in November 2021 that the owner had to pay more than $6,800 in fines and is prohibited from owning animals for five years, with the exception of pets at his home.
Other animals from the rescue mission now living at the Black Beauty Ranch include two tigers, a lion, a zebra, a wildebeest, a nilgai and an emu.
Kelly Donithan, director of animal disaster response for Humane Society International, took part in the three-month rescue operation. “It was like most roadside zoos—to a visitor it may have seemed okay as most of the cruelty was hidden from paying customers,” she said in a statement. “But we saw failing, dangerous fences and cages, chewed stalls holding malnourished and lonely animals, dead animals just below the soil, and animals who need to be in social groups anxious and alone.”
Donithan said that down a dark corridor of a “dilapidated, dank barn” they found rows of isolated animals. She said that the big cat house was “basically a shed” over a filthy cement floor.
Noelle Almrud, senior director of Black Beauty Ranch, said in a statement: “These animals will never be neglected or have to face darkness ever again. They are receiving all of the proper care they deserve, and now have the opportunity to relax in the sun or under a tree, graze in the tall grass, play, enjoy a proper diet and plenty of treats, and be the wild animals they are.”
