Tregembo Animal Park is a zoo in
Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded as the Tote-Em-In Zoo in 1952 by George and June Tregembo,
featuring animals and a collection of "oddities",
the park was renamed the Tregembo Animal Park in 2004.
Following the retirement of the owner, the facility was leased to Jerry Brewer until 2003 when the Tregembo family took over operations.
Following this change, the Tregembos wanted to change the focus to education.
Animal care
In 1998,
PETA
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...
cited the Tote-Em-In zoo as one of the worst of road side zoos in the country.
After the transition in 2004, the Tregembo family sought to enlarge the part and increase the size of enclosures.
The animal park, however, still relies on concrete pads and cages to hold many of the animals, a practice criticized by many as inadequate treatment costly to the animals.
While receiving general positive inspections from the
USDA, the facility is not accredited by the
American Zoo and Aquarium Association
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), originally the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, is an American 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization founded in 1924 and dedicated to the advancement of zoos and public aquariums in ...
.
In 2015 following a complaint by PETA, the
USDA cited the zoo for inadequate veterinary care.
The manager claimed the USDA cleared the park after a follow-up inspection.
References
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Zoos in North Carolina