Whatever exotic animal you can think of you can buy at an auction -- right here in our area. But there are questions about how the animals are being treated, says an animal rescuer.
Tim Harrison rescues exotic pets. "In one year I caught the same tiger three times," Harrison says.
There are some shocking scenes at the auction. For example, a South American Cotamundi, which is similar to a raccoon, has no water, a hidden camera reveals.
"The one monkey in the animal carrier was shaking the box so hard it was rocking and rolling. And that's just abuse to animals, just being there in the first place," Harrison says.
Then, behind a pink sign that reads "dangerous and aggressive animals," there's an African Baboon that didn't have any water for hours.
PETA has seen the video and has called the auction "depressing" and the conditions of the animals on the property "deplorable." The Humane Society is opposed to these kinds of auctions and said these animals have "no place as pets."
The owner of the auction, Thurman Mullet, would not let regular news cameras on the auction site. He says the auction is licensed by the USDA, which has an inspector on site. The USDA told News 11 the auction's cages are in compliance but that the regulations are set up as minimum standards.
The auction owner could be doing much more. According to Mullet's own rules, the food and water containers have to be attached to the cage. But the hidden camera found several cages with no containers -- and many containers that were simply empty.
The auction's rules say cats and primates must be in cages that prevent others from reaching in at them and them reaching out at people. It's clear to see, this Ohio wild animal auction is violating its own rules.
Mullet responded to the claim that there's a lack of water bottles in the cages. "We're going to go in there and find out why they don't," Mullet claims.
