- The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is filing a lawsuit against an exotic pet farm in Michigan. The facility, known as Even Keel Exotics, houses various animals including capybara, lemurs, wallabies, and a red kangaroo.
- The lawsuit alleges that Even Keel Exotics deprived animals of food and water, and also separated a lemur pup from its mother. Furthermore, the facility allowed the public to handle a wallaby that was too young.
The USDA has filed a lawsuit against Even Keel Exotics, an exotic pet farm in Michigan. The facility, owned by Zachery Keeler, has been under scrutiny by animal rights advocates for years. The lawsuit alleges various violations and instances of mistreatment, including neglecting to feed an emaciated nursing cat with four kittens and separating a baby ring-tailed lemur from its mother.
Even Keel Exotics is a USDA-licensed facility that breeds and trades exotic animals such as capybara, kinkajou, mink, foxes, porcupines, and sugar gliders. The facility also houses a red kangaroo and two zebu, a type of humped cattle from India. Inspectors noted that these animals lacked proper shelter and perimeter fences.
In addition to these violations, the facility allowed young animals like a baby wallaby and a baby ring-tailed lemur to be handled by the public, which is improper and potentially harmful. The lawsuit includes a social media photo showing a customer holding the baby wallaby.
The lawsuit states that the baby wallaby was too young to be handled by the public, as evident from its size and appearance. It was at risk of hypothermia and stress due to over-handling. The lawsuit also reveals that Keeler repeatedly removed a lemur pup from its mother and group to interact with employees and the public.
Handling lemurs can result in trauma, aggression, and infectious disease transfer. Even brief separation from the mother and group can cause stress-induced physiological and behavioral problems for the lemur, as well as reproductive health issues for the mother and abnormal levels of aggression in the young lemur. Ring-tailed lemurs are highly social animals that live in groups known as “conspiracies.” Removing one lemur can lead to the conspiracy ousting that individual. Keeler even attempted to sell the lemur pup for $3,500.
Even Keel Exotics has yet to respond to Insider’s request for comment.
During inspections, it was documented that multiple animals in Even Keel Exotics’ enclosures had no access to potable water. When offered water, the animals drank excessively for minutes at a time. Examples include a capybara drinking for 40 seconds straight, a rabbit gulping water for a full minute from a dry dish full of shavings, and two arctic foxes drinking ravenously when ordered to provide water.
The inspection records also reveal that an adult female cat and her nursing kittens had no food or potable water. When Keeler was ordered to provide food, the adult cat ate for two minutes and the kittens gorged themselves for over four minutes.
Animal rights advocates have previously raised concerns about Even Keel Exotics. The ASPCA criticized the USDA for failing to take action against the facility’s refusal to allow inspectors to visit. They argue that leaving an estimated 600 vulnerable animals in Keeler’s care without oversight is endangering both the animals and the public.
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