Florida wildlife attraction slapped with $9K penalty after multiple animals escape enclosures

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KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Wild Florida, an attraction offering airboat tours for gators along with a petting zoo, has to pay $9,000 in civil penalties following the euthanization of a rhino that escaped in September 2022 and the death of other animals that escaped earlier that year.  

The settlement agreement alleged that Wild Florida violated the Animal Welfare Act by failing to handle its animals carefully after multiple aoudads escaped in January 2020 and later – a rhino who had to be euthanized after breaking through a guard rail fence. 

In January 2020, the suit alleges that Wild Florida released seven Aoudads onto the property and the animals escaped through a gate that was left open. Five of the animals died after escaping. 

Two of the Aoudads were killed by hunters, one suffered significant injuries to its front legs and was eventually euthanized and two Aoudads were euthanized after "chemical immobilization attempts were unsuccessful."

A couple of months later in September 2020, a rhinoceros was transported to Wild Florida and placed in a temporary, quarantine holding enclosure made of "guardrail style material."

Not long after its arrival, the rhino damaged the guard rail fence and left the temporary holding enclosure into an adjoining primary enclosure. 

The next morning, the rhino continued testing the cable fence and hot wire fencing of the main enclosure before breaching the fence. 

The rhino was able to maneuver over the guardrail of the primary enclosure and onto open facility property before being shot and killed. 

As a result of these two animal escapes, Wild Florida agreed to resolve the violation by paying $9,000.