Former Noah’s Ark veterinarian, animal rights group file lawsuit against animal sanctuary

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — An Ohio-based animal rights group and a veterinarian who used to work at Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary are taking the facility to court.

Channel 2 Action News obtained a copy of the lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this week.

It alleges that Noah’s Ark is an “unaccredited roadside menagerie” that does not properly care for the animals housed at the Henry County facility.

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Outreach for Animals and former Noah’s Ark veterinarian Dr. Karen Thomas are accusing the sanctuary of violating the federal Endangered Species Act.

The facility houses nearly 60 animals, more than half of which are protected by the ESA, including: tigers, monkeys, macaws, a lion, a grizzly bear and more.

The lawsuit claims that Noah’s Ark did not provide adequate veterinary care, resulting in pain, suffering and even death to some of the animals.

Thomas was employed by Noah’s Ark as an attending veterinarian for “decades” before being fired by the sanctuary, the lawsuit says.

Outreach for Animals describes itself in the lawsuit as “a goodwill ambassador and liaison between humans and animals.” They say they are committed to protecting animals primarily used for entertainment from abuse and neglect.

RELATED STORIES:

• Organizations who donated animals to Noah’s Ark sanctuary want animals back after claims of neglect
• Video shows animals being removed from Noah’s Ark sanctuary as reports allege neglect
• Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary put on warning after inspection; board says they’re making improvements
• Noah’s Ark board member makes public statement for first time since state investigations

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln has reported on controversies surrounding the Noah’s Ark for months.

In August of last year, 700 vultures were found dead at the property after an outbreak of avian flu. Another 100 birds were later euthanized to stop the spread of the virus.

In September, employees began walking off the job, saying their working conditions were not safe.

In November, a longtime employee was bitten by a bear as she was feeding him medicine coated in peanut butter.

Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary released a lengthy statement to Channel 2 Action News on Saturday that read:

Thank you for contacting Noah’s Ark. Unfortunately, a citizen suit was filed this week by an aggrieved former team member and an individual from a defunct non-profit out of Dayton, Ohio. This citizen suit is another in a series of legal distractions, led by terminated employees, in an attempt to regain their leadership roles and undermine the hard work, determination and success of current Noah’s Ark staff and volunteers in providing high-quality care to our animal residents.

Noah’s Ark rejects all allegations and insinuations. This citizen suit follows two actual lawsuits filed by dismissed team and former board members in September 2022 and again in December 2022. Both lawsuits went before a judge and were summarily dismissed. The second lawsuit was dismissed “with prejudice” meaning they could not bring up the same baseless and inaccurate claims a third time. This new citizens’ suit is another, third attempt – also baseless – again leveraging the same misplaced unsubstantiated accusations, and again with the intent to undermine Noah’s Ark’s progress and path forward.

This citizens’ suit contains false and unsubstantiated allegations about the care of animals at the sanctuary. ALL are denied. This citizens’ suit primarily focuses on three issues. That the former vet, Dr. Thomas, was personally harmed by being denied her ‘aesthetic, recreational, educational and personal interest in seeing the animals’’. Second, that an individual from an organization based out of Ohio, with absolutely no affiliation or connection to Noah’s Ark’s mission, was somehow ‘frustrated’. Noah’s Ark’s only knowledge of this individual and organization or what it actually does is based on its extremely limited website.

Third, it cites six- and nine-month-old USDA reports. The issues in these reports, which occurred while Dr Thomas was the vet of record, were immediately addressed months ago. No inappropriate actions occurred. Other examples of alleged wrongdoing are similarly baseless. The suit heavily focuses on events and reports from 2022 - a report from six months ago and a nine-month-old USDA inspection from September 2022. The issues cited in these dated reports were the result of non-performance of duties by the former employees. These individuals held positions at Noah’s Ark at or around the time of the September reports and all of them have since been terminated. All violations mentioned in those dated inspection reports were addressed immediately by current administration and have been resolved through the hard work and efforts of current Noah’s Ark staff and leadership. These accusations brought forth by two citizens are preposterous and untrue.

We will not be deterred in our animal care mission. The public may rest assured that all of the animals at Noah’s Ark’s enjoy professional care, proper and expert-informed nutrition, and space to thrive.

—  Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary

You can read the full lawsuit below.

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Channel 2 Action News gets exclusive look at Noah's Ark animal sanctuary, speaks with president Only Channel 2 Action News got to go inside the facility.

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