A judge has ordered that bears, mountain lions, a camel, and other exotic animals be removed from an eastern Iowa roadside zoo. In a ruling filed Sunday night, District Court Judge Monica Wittig found the Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester to be a nuisance and that the exotic animals at the site must be placed at accredited sanctuaries or zoos. Four plaintiffs sued to have the animals removed and the zoo owned by Pam and Tom Sellner closed. Pam Sellner had operated the zoo since 2002 despite repeated complaints that animals were mistreated. During the trial, the judge toured the zoo and her ruling described improperly cared for goats and rams, bears that were “a very sad sight to see” and a baboon that was “the saddest and scariest” animal at the zoo.
