SHIPSHEWANA, Ind. – Dutch Creek Farm Animal Park north of Shipshewana in LaGrange County was ordered shutdown under a 21-day suspension that went into effect on Oct. 9 by the USDA. 

The fiiling of a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice alleges improper care of farm animals at the operation.

Spokesman for the operation, Jonathan Lawler, said the alleged violations were mostly related to paperwork and had “really nothing to do with welfare of the animals.”

The suspension expired Oct. 30 providing the violations had been corrected, but the facility is normally only open from May 1 to the middle of October.  

Operator Vernon D. Miller could not be reached for comment but a recorded voice left on a phone message machine at the animal park informs callers the closure resulted from “circumstances beyond our control.” The brief recording ends with “we hope to open up next spring.”                                                                                  The U.S. Department of Justice civil lawsuit filed against the operation alleges violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). According to the 54-page lawsuit, the issues found by inspectors included animal enclosures containing as much as 12 inches of feces, untreated animal wounds along with live electrical wires near the animals.

The AWA was passed by Congress in 1966 and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson to “ensure that animals used for exhibition or held for sale are provided humane care and treatment,” according to the lawsuit.

Dutch Creek Farm Animal Park has 400 animals that include farm livestock such as pigs, cows and goats along with exotic species like zebras, monkeys, camels and ostriches. The animals are on exhibit to be seen and petted by thousands of visitors each year to the animal park, which also offers hayrides as part of the experience.

Enforcement of the AWA is left up to agencies such as USDA, which sets minimum standards of care and inspects registered and licensed facilities to ensure compliance. Under the AWA, facilities not correcting deficiencies can face fines, license suspensions, cease and desist order or confiscation of animals.

In its complaint, USDA refers to 90 violations during multiple inspections since September of last year. Many of the alleged violations were repeated offenses from warnings being ignored at the animal park, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims practices at the animal park have placed and are placing the health of animals in serious danger. The practices listed by the lawsuit include failing to provide adequate veterinary care, sanitary housing, food and water conditions along with safe and hospitable housing and living conditions.

The remainder of the allegations are exposing animals to psychologically distressing conditions and failing to create and maintain complete and accurate records.

The lawsuit is asking the U.S. District Court in Fort Wayne to grant relief by keeping Miller from violating the AWA in the future. A sign posted at the park entrance announcing the closure blames “USDA overreach” for the operation having to close “with no notice.”

The sign also asks visitors to file a complaint about the closure with the Office of Inspector General under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Lawler said the operation, which opened 18 years ago, was never found in violation until USDA assigned new inspectors to the animal park working under regulations “written not by someone who knows how to care for animals.”

He said previous inspectors with backgrounds in farming knew what to look for in terms of proper animal care and neglect.

Lawler pointed to at least seven animals on the farm mentioned in the complaint as going without proper veterinary care when the opposite is true. He said one of the animals was a deer brought in with four others for rehabilitation that didn’t survive. “Sometimes you just can’t save an animal. Sometimes, it just happens,” he said.

Another animal was a gray fox suffering because it was two to three years past its average lifespan. “It was time for the animal to be put down,” he said.

Lawler said there was also a beloved goat at the farm since it opened that perished despite attempts to save the animal.

He said Miller is Amish, whose animal care practices might not be recognized as proper by inspectors without a background in agriculture but they are viewed as humane by farmers. “There’s a lot of overreach here,” he said.

Lawler, formerly the public policy director at the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare, is now with the Indiana Companion Animal Alliance.

He expressed a great deal of optimism the animal park will mount a successful legal defense. “We’re confident we will not have any issues when it comes to proving animal welfare was never an issue,” he said.