- Isabel Hicks Chronicle Staff Writer
- Oct 27, 2023
- https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/crime/feds-terminate-animals-of-montana-exhibition-license-preventing-operation-in-all-states/article_b8780548-74e5-11ee-9a16-33d8f683652d.html
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Federal officials terminated the license of Animals of Montana this month, a notorious wild animal exhibitor that for years has racked up dozens of state and federal animal welfare violations.
The Bozeman-based group has transported exotic animals around the country for use in films and staged wildlife photography.
The Oct. 16 decision from the U.S. Department of Agriculture terminates Animals of Montana’s wild animal exhibition license under the Animal Welfare Act.
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Troy Hyde, owner of Animals of Montana, declined to comment on the federal license termination.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals asked the USDA in June to remove the federal license.
The termination comes two years after the Montana Supreme Court upheld Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks 2017 decision to terminate the group’s wild animal menagerie state permit, which is used by places exhibiting bears, large cats and other carnivores for commercial purposes.
PETA’s Captive Wildlife Advocacy Specialist Alex Baldwin said the federal termination is important because it means Hyde can’t simply move his business to another state.
“The federal Animal Welfare Act covers regulated animals on the national level,” Baldwin said in a Friday interview. “So if Hyde were to try to move to another state and try to start again with a clean slate, he legally cannot do that.”
The federal termination is also permanent this time, Baldwin added. Hyde had his Animal Welfare Act license previously suspended for two years over violations of the Endangered Species Act and Lacey Act in 2000. He renewed the license after the two year period.
In 2012, an employee of Animals of Montana was fatally mauled by a captive grizzly bear while cleaning its enclosure. The death sparked an investigation of the business by FWP, which found 22 separate violations that resulted in the permit’s termination.
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FWP spokesperson Morgan Jacobsen said Friday those violations included transporting animals out of state without a permit and failing to provide animals with clean drinking water and sanitary living conditions.
Court documents shed light on the other violations, including failing to padlock dangerous animals’ cages including the bear, coyote, lynx, leopard and wolf cages, and directing a member of the public to use a weed whacker to control a tiger during a photoshoot.
According to documents, cages remained unsecured and unclean, resulting in the permanent escape of a fisher, a small carnivore in the weasel family.
The 2021 Montana Supreme Court decision upholding the FWP permit suspension ordered Hyde to close the Animals of Montana business and no longer exhibit the animals. He was allowed to keep one grizzly bear named Adam until the end of its life.
The status of the other animals is unclear, which at one point included dozens of Canadian lynx, gray wolves and grizzly bears. FWP officials said Friday they were unsure where or if the animals had been relocated.
Hyde said in a phone call Friday that he no longer had exhibition animals and they had been relocated “all over the country” years ago when Animals of Montana closed. When asked, he declined to provide details as to specific states or organizations where the animals were relocated.
An USDA inspection of Animals of Montana in February 2023 noted the business was still holding 22 animals, including 12 Canadian lynx, two fishers, seven gray wolves and one grizzly bear.
According to FWP, Hyde also has held a state permit to operate a fur farm separate from the exhibition business. On Friday, Hyde said the permit was still active.
PETA’s Baldwin said while the USDA decision only impacts the wild animal exhibition permit and not the fur farm permit, it’s still something that the animal rights activists are “keeping a close eye on.”
“Operating a fur farm is problematic just by the nature of that industry, but also the fact that he has such a long history of animal welfare violations… we just worry quite a bit about the well-being of those animals that are still in his care,” Baldwin said.
Exposing the Big Game 