USDA Orders Indiana Wildlife Zoo To Close

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CHARLESTOWN, Ind. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has ordered Wildlife in Need, a wildlife zoo in Charlestown, to shut down.

Owner Tim Stark, who has had his license revoked, is facing $340,000 in fines for violating the Animal Welfare Act more than 120 times between 2012 and 2016. He says he rescues and rehabs exotic animals, but a 183-page report from the USDA says Stark harassed federal inspectors for years, failed to provide proper care for sick or dying animals and even beat a leopard to death with a baseball bat.