'No Abuse Or Neglect' Of State Fair Animals: Pelham PD Statement

PELHAM, AL - To say that this year's Alabama State Fair at Oak Mountain State Park had some bumps in the road would be an understatement. Complaints about parking, traffic, and - most notably - a dead goat in the fair's petting zoo leading to questions about the treatment of the animals at the fair piled into the Pelham Police Department. The Pelham PD issued a statement Monday, now that the fair has concluded, regarding its investigation i to the treatment of the animals at the fair.

The issue of the dead goat at the petting zoo was the first complaint, which occurred during the first weekend of the fair, on Sept, 29. "Officers working at the fair responded to the area immediately, but the goat had been removed," The Pelham PD said in its statement. "We began our investigation at that time, and the determination was made that the goat died of an injury caused by another animal. The owner of the petting zoo was required to produce all of the animals’ veterinary records as part of that investigation."

Police said from that point forward, officers monitored the health and well being of all the animals in the petting zoo. "Officers in uniform and in plain clothes observed them several times a day. The animals always had food, water, shelter and bedding," the statement said. "At no time did our officers observe any animals being mistreated, abused or neglected that would rise to the level where we could take action under state law."

Another complaint regarding a sick cow at the fair was also investigated during the fair, according to the police statement. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Patch morning newsletter.)

"On Saturday, October 6th, we received a complaint about a miniature cow that was bleeding from its eyes and sitting in its own feces" police said. "Officers responded immediately to the area to check on the cow, and it was not in the condition that was reported to us. It was standing, did not appear to have feces in its fur, and its eyes were not red in any way. Petting zoos are permitted under Alabama law. If anything, these animals were overfed. We want to reiterate that at no time did our officers observe any animals being mistreated, abused or neglected that would rise to the level where we could take action under state law."

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