One of the cages contains a black bear repeatedly swinging his head back and forth, a stereotypical behavior which indicates psychological distress and poor welfare.Ĭlick the images to see larger. This 2018 video filmed in Yates’ backyard shows a tiger walking with an obvious limp, and a 2017 video filmed by a neighbor shows the rows of chain-link pens on the property. Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation is generally not open to the public, but photos and videos taken by the press show the dismal conditions Yates’ animals live in. Because his facility is grandfathered in, he does not have to meet even the minimum 5 acre property size required to legally house big cats in Florida. He warehouses the big cats in rows of barren concrete-floored pens on his 2.5 acre residential property - located across the street from an elementary school. The current accurate number of big cats he owns is unknown. News articles cite Yates owned 34 big cats in 2012 and 17 tigers in 2014. Despite this, the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) continues to renew his permits and frequently dumps confiscated exotic pets on his property because he agrees to take anything they give him. Vernon Yates has a history of serious Animal Welfare Act violations, reckless endangerment of the public, and as of 2011 has failed to post the legally-mandated $10,000 bond required by the state of Florida for all owners of dangerous exotics. His one-man nonprofit was founded in 1980 “for tax purposes” as a spinoff from his previous business of breeding raccoons for the exotic pet trade. Yates is a junior-high dropout and former electrician with no formal education in wildlife or animal care. is a pseudo-sanctuary based in the suburban Seminole, Florida backyard of Vernon Yates, a freelance wildlife trapper, rehabilitator and exotic animal owner. Vernon Yates in Seminole, FL for threatening a USDA inspector.
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