Oregon police have arrested the owner of a zoo after over a million in cash and checks was discovered, alongside 44 guns and a stash of narcotics.
According to The Washington Times, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office in Bandon, Oregon, announced on Tuesday that multiple personnel from different agencies had found approximately 80 grams of methamphetamines at the West Coast Game Park Safari.
Law enforcement said they made the discovery while executing a search warrant earlier this month, and a subsequent search uncovered another 8 grams of cocaine, 44 guns including a modified machine gun, and $1.6 million in cash, checks, bonds, and certificates.
Brian Tenney, the zoo’s owner, was arrested Tuesday. The 52-year-old has been charged with manufacturing, possessing, and attempting to distribute the methamphetamine.
Tenney reportedly inherited the zoo in 2009 from his parents, after they opened it in 1968.
Oregon State Police have also seized 310 animals, all of which have been relocated to sanctuaries and other rescue facilities.
The Washington Times further reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had previously served the zoo dozens of times in the last year alone, citing in April that some of the animals that were present had not received proper care and noted that three big cats, including two lions and a leopard appeared to be losing muscle mass.
USDA said the animals “have not been evaluated or treated by the attending veterinarian to diagnose any dietary insufficiency, diseases or injuries accounting for the loss of body condition. … Each dealer or exhibitor must have a mechanism of direct and frequent communication with the attending veterinarian so that timely and accurate information on problems of animal health, behavior and well-being is conveyed.”
In January, inspectors found a dead tiger in a zoo freezer, which was covered by frozen turkeys that were being stored to feed the animals, according to The Oregonian.
“The (zoo worker) stated that the tiger has been in the freezer with the food for several months,” investigators wrote.
