CALDWELL, Idaho (CBS2) — The United States Department of Agriculture issued a warning against Babby Farms in Caldwell after inspectors saw animals bite people, BoiseDev reports.
This official warning was issued on Feb. 17 following a Jan. 6 inspection.
During the inspection, USDA employees say they saw two girls get bitten by animals. A coatimundi, a South American mammal, jumped up and bit a young girl on the hand while she was leaving the exhibit. A brown collard lemur bit a different young girl on the hand as well.
Inspectors say both girls were treated by the farm.
The USDA's inspection also raised concerns about there being insufficient barriers between animal cages, allowing the animals to fight each other.
Last year, former employees accused Babby Farms of animal abuse. Their petition to shut down Babby Farms gained more than 16,000 signatures.
"When there's substandard conditions, they have to be fixed, and when we tried to fix them, there was no follow-through from management," said Allison Lizaso, former Babby Farms employee.
"It is important to us that we first establish that these claims are, in fact, untrue,” Babby Farms’ said in a Facebook post responding to claims of animal abuse. “Ever since the very first animal was brought to our property in 2009, nothing has mattered more to any of us than the health and well-being of all our animals.”
The USDA's warning is not a disciplinary action, but it opens the door for the USDA to pursue civil penalties, criminal charges or sanctions if any future violations are found at Babby Farms.
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