Via

Transcription

1 November 23, 2015 Board of County Commissioners Nye County, Nevada 2100 E. Walt Williams Dr., Ste. 100 Pahrump, NV Via Re: Appeal of Issuance of CU , Kayla Mitchell s (dba Big Cat Encounters ) Application for a CUP to keep Ten Tigers in Pahrump Dear Chair Wichman, Vice Chair Carbone, and Commissioners Borasky, Schinhofen, and Cox: On behalf of the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) and its hundreds of thousands of members and supporters, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and its more than three million members and supporters, Lions, Tigers & Bears Sanctuary, Keepers of the Wild Sanctuary, and Big Cat Rescue Sanctuary, we are writing to submit an official appeal of the issuance of CU by the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission ( RPC ) on November 12, 2015, pursuant to Nye County Code (A) 1 and (B). 2 ALDF, PETA, Lions, Tigers & Bears, Keepers of the Wild, and Big Cat Rescue are aggrieved 3 by the RPC s recent decision and request that this matter be set for a hearing in Pahrump within sixty (60) days. 4 A check for $200 will be delivered with a hard copy of this appeal. 5 The RPC s decision was improper for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to: 1) the ongoing and illegal exhibition and interstate transport of big cats by Kayla and Karl Mitchell (dba Big Cat Encounters ) without a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) exhibitor s license; and 2) the Nye County District Judge Kim Wanker s order mandating 1 Any decision of the planning commission, county commission or any other person appointed or employed by the county who is authorized to make administrative decisions regarding the use of land, may be appealed in writing to the Nye County commission by any person aggrieved by such a decision. Appeals shall be handled in accordance with title 16, chapter of this code. (Ord. 285, 2004). 2 Any person aggrieved by a decision of a planning commission, zoning board of adjustment or hearing examiner, which is related to a variance, conditional use permit or special exception may file an appeal with the board. The appeal must be in writing and accompanied by the required fee for a public hearing appeal, must clearly specify what part of the decision is being appealed, and must be filed within thirty (30) days of the date of the decision. The board shall schedule a public hearing on the appeal as early as is practicable, and in no case not more than sixty (60) days after receipt of the appeal. 3 See N.R.S See Nye County Code, (B)(2). 5 See id., (A) (providing for submission of a $200 fee with any appeal of a decision by the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission concerning a conditional use permit). 1

2 removal of the cats from the premises due to conditional use permit revocation based on the Mitchells ongoing illegal exhibition of big cats without a USDA license. As you are aware from the correspondence you have received from the USDA (a copy of which is enclosed) regarding the Mitchells exhibition of tigers to the public for a fee, the Mitchells are violating the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) by continuing to exhibit tigers more than ten years after the USDA revoked the AWA exhibitor license for Karl Mitchell and Big Cat Encounters (in part because Mitchell was improperly withholding water as a training technique). 6 The USDA already admonished Nye County that: [N]either Karl Mitchell nor any of his affiliated businesses, holds a valid AWA license. The license previously held by Mr. Mitchell (No. 88-C-0076) was revoked by order of the Secretary of Agriculture in Mr. Mitchell may not be issued another AWA license. The AWA regulations bar a person whose license has been revoked from buying, selling, transporting, delivering for transport, or exhibiting any animal. 7 As USDA license revocation is permanent, Mitchell will never be eligible for a USDA license again. This means that the exhibition of tigers by Mitchell and Big Cat Encounters will never be legal. It is also important to underscore that, due to Big Cat Encounters ongoing illegal exhibition of cats by Karl and Kayla Mitchell, Kayla Mitchell will never be eligible for a USDA license either. Indeed, the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), which governs the issuance of USDA licenses to animal exhibitors, provides that Any person who has been or is an officer, agent, or employee of a licensee whose license has been suspended or revoked and who was responsible for or participated in the violation upon which the order of suspension or revocation was based will not be licensed within the period during which the order of suspension or revocation is in effect. 8 Relevant AWA regulations also provide that: Any person whose license has been revoked shall not be licensed in his or her own name or in any other manner; nor will any partnership, firm, corporation, or other legal entity in which any such person has a substantial interest, financial or otherwise, be licensed. Any person whose license has been suspended or revoked shall not buy, sell, transport, exhibit, or deliver for transportation, any animal during the period of suspension or revocation. 9 6 See, e.g., In re Karl Mitchell, an individual, and Big Cat Encounters, a Nevada Corporation, AWA Docket No (attached). 7 See Letter from Dr. Robert M. Gibbens, Western Regional Director, USDA/APHIS/Animal Care, to Commissioner Dan Schinhofen, Nye County Board of Commissioners, Oct. 22, 2012 (attached); see also, Images 1-3 below, demonstrating that Kayla and Karl Mitchell are improperly transporting big cats across state lines without a USDA license. 8 See 9 C.F.R See id (b)-(c). 2

3 Despite the foregoing regulations, the Mitchells have continued to illegally exhibit tigers to the public, and are transporting animals across state lines violation of the foregoing prohibition (see Images 1-3 below). Indeed, Kayla Mitchell admitted as much during the November 12, 2015, RPC hearing and boldly discloses their improper interstate transport on her public Facebook page ( Any correspondence and guidance that the County and the RPC have received about Karl Mitchell and Big Cat Encounters from the USDA about the illegal exhibition of tigers is equally applicable to Kayla Mitchell as Ranch Manager and Tiger Trainer for Big Cat Encounters; meaning, Kayla Mitchell cannot legally exhibit tigers to the public and is not eligible for a USDA license. Moreover, Kayla Mitchell is complicit in the violations of Karl Mitchell s CUP that precipitated the pending nuisance abatement case in Nye County. As you are aware, a Nye County District Court Judge Kim Wanker ordered removal of the tigers from the property located at 6061 N. Woodchips Road due to Mitchell s refusal to comply with the RPC s revocation of his previous conditional use permit, which was properly revoked due to Mitchell s violation of the terms of the permit, which requires compliance with applicable laws. As the USDA advised, the Mitchells and Big Cat Encounters are violating federal AWA regulations by exhibiting tigers (and by allowing and encouraging direct visitor contact with big cats). The court order has been entered against Karl Mitchell, Big Cat Encounters, and property owner, Ray Mielzinski. The RPC s issuance of a CUP to Kayla Mitchell was improper on that basis alone because Mielzinski is still the property owner and he is under court order to remove special conditions animals from the address on Woodchips Road. It s shocking that four members of the RPC fell for the Mitchells desperate stunt, and you will likely hear a lot of excuses from the Mitchells about therapy animals and their alleged operation as a private shelter. Tigers, other apex predators, and other species of non-domesticated animals are not recognized as therapy animals under applicable disability laws. Certainly ten of any animal (on top of the continued breeding that the Mitchells are facilitating, see Image 4 below) is not necessary or recognized for therapy purposes. Even private facilities that exhibit to the public must have a USDA exhibitor license. As the USDA has made abundantly clear, Karl Mitchell and Big Cat Encounters will never be eligible for another USDA license. That is a de facto admonishment that Kayla Mitchell, as the agent and Ranch Manager of a facility whose license has been permanently revoked is not eligible for a USDA license. Moreover, Kayla and Karl Mitchell continue to brazenly advertise public exhibition of tigers on their Big Cat Encounters website: Big Cat Experience: Itinerary The Big Cat Encounters Ranch is located in Pahrump, Nevada, a short distance from Las Vegas. We are a private entity reserved for VIP types and not the general public. Casual attire is recommended; dress appropriately to accommodate the outside temperature of Las Vegas. Remember, the big cat reserve is a rustic, desert ranch inhabited by wild Bengal tigers. Children welcome when accompanied by an adult. Visit the donate tab to make a deposit, and put reservations in the "purpose" box. Thanks for your interest. 3

4 See (emphasis added). The above-referenced advertisement is an advertisement for public exhibition as defined by the federal Animal Welfare Act. Indeed, Dr. Robert Gibbens expressly advised the Commissioners that this exact advertisement, taken directly from the Big Cat Encounters three years ago and still advertised today, is considered exhibition under the AWA 10 and requires a valid USDA license (which neither Kayla nor Karl Mitchell possess). Exhibition is any display of animals for a fee regardless of how frequent it is. 11 Moreover, the Mitchells fall back on faulty logic that their self-designated status as a private shelter exempts them from AWA requirements and oversight when the AWA expressly applies to public or private facilities. 12 Because license revocation is permanent, and because Kayla Mitchell is an agent of Big Cat Encounters and Karl Mitchell, she is also permanently disqualified from obtaining a USDA exhibitors license. Issuance of CU defies logic and is tantamount to the RPC enabling a violation of the pending Nye County District Court s order, and the federal AWA. It renders meaningless the countless hours that the Nye County planning staff, county attorneys, law enforcement officers, and you yourselves have been forced to spend to ensure that the Mitchells are not given a free pass to violate county laws meant to keep your community safe. The Mitchells have had years to comply with the county s directives. As long as Kayla Mitchell is affiliated with Big Cat Encounters, the Nye County Court order pertains to her equally, as does the USDA s revocation of her husband and Big Cat Encounters USDA license. Therefore, we request that you set a hearing for the appeal of CU ALDF, PETA, Lions, Tigers, & Bears, Keepers of the Wild, and Big Cat Rescue stand ready to help rehome the ten tigers (and recently-born cub) to reputable, true, sanctuaries where they will have vast, naturalistic habitats and won t be used as props for public handling and other public exhibitions. Please advise me of the date that this matter is set for hearing in accordance with Nye County Code (B)(2) and don't hesitate to contact me at or cnasser@aldf.org with any questions. Very truly yours, Carney Anne Nasser, Esq. Legislative Counsel ALDF 10 See id. 11 See 7 U.S.C (h): The term exhibitor means any person (public or private) exhibiting any animals, which were purchased in commerce or the intended distribution of which affects commerce, or will affect commerce, to the public for compensation, as determined by the Secretary, and such term includes carnivals, circuses, and zoos exhibiting such animals whether operated for profit or not. 12 See id. (emphasis added). 4

5 Brittany Peet, Esq. Deputy Director Captive Animal Law Enforcement PETA Foundation Bobbi Brink Founder and Director Lions, Tigers, & Bears Sanctuary /s/ Jonathan Kraft Jonathan Kraft Founder and Director Keepers of the Wild Sanctuary /s/ Carole Baskin Carole Baskin Founder and Director Big Cat Rescue Sanctuary cc: Attachments 5

6 Screen Grabs from Kayla Mitchell s Facebook Page Image 1: On September 7, 2013, Kayla Mitchell posted on her public Facebook page that she and Karl had gone to Oklahoma to acquire two new tiger cubs to bring back to Big Cat Encounters, thus violating 9 C.F.R Image 2: Kayla Mitchell posted photographs of tiger cubs Thelma and Louise, who were acquired from an exhibitor in Oklahoma and transported by the Mitchells back to Big Cat Encounters at 6061 N. Woodchips Rd. 6

7 Image 3: Kayla Mitchell posted on August 6, 2014, the acquisition of yet another tiger cub from Oklahoma exhibitor Joe Schriebvogel. Yet again, violating the prohibition on interstate transport of big cats without a USDA license. Image 4: Kayla Mitchell posted on October 30, 2015, that she and Karl had bred two of their tigers and a new tiger had been born at Big Cat Encounters on October 1,