Giraffe Seized by Feds From Private Louisiana Zoo

A private Louisiana zoo is crying foul after federal regulators swooped in last week and seized an ailing giraffe.

Giraffe Seized by Feds From Private Louisiana Zoo

Barn Hill Preserve in Ethel, Louisiana is challenging the actions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in which the federal regulators seized a sick giraffe from the private zoo.

On Tuesday, September 12, 2023, federal regulators seized a sick giraffe named Brazos from Barn Hill Preserve on the claims the zoo was guilty of "continued failure to provide adequate veterinary care, 'resulting in a state of unrelieved suffering for the identified animal'" according to abcnews.go.com.

Barn Hill Preserve says they are being unfairly targeted after they initially notified the USDA that Brazos the giraffe was sick and in poor health.

From abcnews.go.com -

"The company said in a statement Wednesday that a veterinarian who has cared for Brazos for the past two years committed 'committed medical malpractice by not treating the giraffe properly or possessing the necessary skills to treat him in the first place.'

Barn Hill said the veterinarian has since been fired."

Barn Hill says after they learned the USDA was planning on seizing the giraffe, they hired a giraffe specialist to care for Brazos.

According to Barn Hill Preserve, the giraffe specialist recommended that Brazos not be removed.

The USDA tells abcnews.go.com the giraffe has been transported to another zoo under the Animal Welfare Act.

Read more at abcnews.go.com.