Birds and Animals Unlimited Gary Gero

USDA License #93-C-0886, 2 McLaren, Ste. A., Irvine, CA 92618

Birds & Animals Unlimited has demonstrated a chronic failure to meet minimal federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibition as established in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued four official warnings to Birds & Animals Unlimited for repeatedly failing to comply with veterinary care requirements, failing to provide animals with shelter from heat and sunlight, improper food storage, and failure to maintain enclosures to prevent escape. Birds & Animals Unlimited has also been cited by the USDA for failure to provide veterinary care, failure to provide environmental enhancement to promote the psychological well-being of primates, failure to provide shelter from the elements, failure to protect an orangutan from unauthorized access, failure to provide minimum space, failure to clean filthy and foul-smelling cages, and failure to properly maintain cages. A child actor filed a lawsuit against Birds & Animals for injuries sustained when he was bitten in the face by a chimpanzee.

Contact PETA for documentation.

August 21, 2008: The USDA cited Birds & Animals for failure to provide veterinary care to a dog whose fur was heavily matted, failure to ensure adequate protection from heat for rabbits who were housed outdoors, failure to maintain dog and cat enclosures that contained items that could not be sanitized and/or that could present a risk of injury to the animals, failure to provide a cat enclosure that could be properly sanitized, failure to provide a proper diet to squirrels, and failure to maintain acquisition records.

July 15, 2008: The USDA cited Birds & Animals for failure to provide a written program of veterinary care, failure to provide a documented plan of environmental enhancement for nonhuman primates, failure to properly clean filthy monkey enclosures which had “a buildup of grime/scale on the chain link mesh and wire sides of the enclosures,” failure to ensure adequate protection from heat for rabbits who were housed outdoors, and failure to maintain dog exercise runs that had rust and peeling paint and that could not be properly sanitized. Birds & Animals was also cited for failure to submit a single itinerary for animals in travel status in the last year. The USDA inspector wrote,

“Licensee has been repeatedly requested to supply such information on a regular basis ….”

December 20, 2006: The USDA cited Birds & Animals for failure to properly sanitize a primate enclosure, poor housekeeping, and failure to maintain a pig enclosure that had damaged and rotting wood.

December 19, 2006: The USDA cited Birds & Animals for failure to provide adequate shelter from cold weather to rabbits, failure to provide caged squirrels with adequate access to food, failure to maintain records of acquisition and disposition, and failure to have a written program of veterinary care signed by the licensee.

May 9, 2006: The USDA cited Birds & Animals for failure to provide a travel itinerary and access to the animals to an inspector in order to conduct an animal welfare inspection.

September 8, 2005: The USDA cited Birds & Animals for failure to provide adequate drainage in a primate cage.

March 17, 2005: The USDA cited Birds & Animals for failure to correct a previously identified noncompliance of failure to notify the agency of a change of operation

www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/animal-actors.aspx