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More than 300 animals were removed from an Oregon roadside zoo. Its former owner has now been sentenced to 7½ years in prison. But the history of the case raises another question: How long should animals have to wait for intervention?

For decades, West Coast Game Park Safari operated along Highway 101 near Bandon, Oregon, promoting itself as a destination where visitors could encounter exotic wildlife at unusually close range.
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Today, the facility is closed. Hundreds of animals have been removed. Its former owner, Brian Tenney, has been convicted of dozens of criminal offenses, most involving animal neglect, and sentenced to 7½ years in prison.
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The conclusion of the criminal case provides accountability for what authorities ultimately found. But the history leading to that intervention may be equally important.
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This wasn't simply a story about what investigators discovered during one raid. Federal inspection records, regulatory problems and animal-welfare concerns had accumulated before authorities finally removed the animals. klcc.org

WHAT AUTHORITIES FOUND

In May 2025, state, local and federal authorities executed search warrants at West Coast Game Park Safari following an investigation involving concerns about animal welfare and other suspected illegal activity.
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Veterinarians and investigators evaluated the animals, their food and water, sanitation and enclosure conditions. By the time the operation concluded, Oregon Humane reported that 310 animals had been seized and relocated to accredited and/or permitted sanctuaries or rescue facilities. Animals whose conditions were sufficiently serious were euthanized following veterinary assessment. Oregon Humane
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The investigation extended far beyond animal neglect. Authorities reported finding approximately 80 grams of methamphetamine, about eight grams of cocaine, 44 firearms and more than $1 million in cash and other financial instruments on the property. One firearm was identified as a machine gun. AP News
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A grand jury subsequently indicted Tenney on 371 charges, the majority involving animal neglect and abuse. AP News

THE ANIMALS BEHIND THE CHARGES

Court records and reporting described animals suffering from poor body condition, parasites, untreated injuries and inadequate care. Earlier federal inspections had documented concerns including visibly underweight big cats and other Animal Welfare Act violations. KTVZ
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Public-media reporting based on inspection records and interviews with former employees described animals being inadequately fed, deteriorating conditions and questions surrounding animals that could no longer be accounted for through appropriate records. A federal inspector had even documented a dead tiger stored in a freezer. klcc.org
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Among the animals removed was George, a chimpanzee who had been living alone after the death of his companion. Reporting described inspectors finding George withdrawn and staring at the wall of his enclosure.
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George was ultimately transferred to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in Washington, where he could once again live in the presence of other chimpanzees. klcc.org

FROM 371 CHARGES TO A GUILTY PLEA

On April 20, 2026, Tenney pleaded guilty under a negotiated agreement to 47 criminal charges.
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Forty-three involved animal neglect. He also pleaded guilty to unlawful delivery of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of a machine gun, recklessly endangering another person and racketeering. KTVZ
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Then, on September 8, 2026, Coos County Circuit Judge Andrew E. Combs sentenced Tenney to 90 months—7½ years—in state prison, followed by three years of post-prison supervision.
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He was also ordered to pay $340,922.61 in restitution to agencies and animal-care organizations involved in the response and subsequent care of the animals. The sentence includes a 15-year prohibition on possessing or living with domestic animals and animals within specified categories associated with the neglect charges. opb

BUT THE STORY DIDN’T BEGIN WITH THE RAID

This is where the West Coast Game Park Safari case becomes larger than one owner or one roadside zoo.
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The animals were eventually removed, but concerns had been documented before the May 2025 intervention. Public-media reporting found that federal inspectors had repeatedly cited the facility under the Animal Welfare Act. It also reported that the park had been operating without an Oregon Wildlife Exhibitor's Permit since June 2023 and that federal inspectors had issued approximately 80 citations during the following two years. klcc.org
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USDA records also confirm continuing federal attention to the facility. Public-record requests sought inspection photographs, enforcement records, veterinary information and other documentation concerning West Coast Game Park Safari, including material from an April 22, 2025 inspection shortly before the raid. APHIS
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Those facts raise a difficult but necessary accountability question:
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When regulators repeatedly document serious animal-welfare concerns, what should trigger decisive intervention?

INSPECTIONS MATTER — BUT SO DOES WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THEM

Inspection reports serve an essential purpose. They create a record, identify deficiencies and provide regulated facilities an opportunity to correct problems.
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But an inspection report cannot feed an underweight animal. A citation cannot provide veterinary treatment. And documenting a deteriorating enclosure does not, by itself, protect the animal living inside it.
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Regulatory systems therefore have to be judged not only by whether problems are identified, but by what happens when serious or repeated problems continue.
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The West Coast Game Park Safari case illustrates why that distinction matters. By the time authorities executed search warrants in May 2025, removing and caring for hundreds of animals required an extraordinary multi-agency operation involving law enforcement, veterinarians, animal-welfare organizations, sanctuaries and other facilities across the country. Oregon Humane

ACCOUNTABILITY DOESN’T END WITH A PRISON SENTENCE

Tenney's sentence is significant. Forty-three animal-neglect convictions, 7½ years in prison, more than $340,000 in restitution and restrictions on future animal possession represent substantial legal consequences.
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But criminal accountability addresses only one part of what happened.
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There is also institutional accountability: Were warning signs recognized early enough? Were existing laws and permit requirements sufficient? Were regulatory tools used effectively? When repeated violations accumulated, could intervention have occurred sooner?
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Those questions aren't about assigning responsibility without evidence. They are about learning from a case in which hundreds of living animals ultimately had to be removed from a facility after concerns had already appeared in the regulatory record.

THE MOST IMPORTANT OUTCOME IS WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ANIMALS

The closure of a facility is not, by itself, the measure of success.
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For the animals, what matters is what came afterward: appropriate veterinary care, suitable environments, species-appropriate social opportunities and placement with organizations capable of meeting their long-term needs.
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That is why George's story matters. His removal was not simply a transfer from one address to another. For a highly social chimpanzee who had been living alone, placement at a chimpanzee sanctuary offered something fundamentally different: the opportunity for a life that includes members of his own species. klcc.org
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The West Coast Game Park Safari is now closed. Its former owner has been convicted and sentenced. Hundreds of animals were removed.
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But perhaps the most important lesson should not be that authorities eventually intervened.
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It should be that documented warning signs matter most when they lead to meaningful action before animal suffering reaches the point that an emergency rescue becomes necessary.

Evidence identifies the problem.
Enforcement determines what happens next.
Accountability asks whether it happened soon enough.

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Sources: The Oregonian/OregonLive; Oregon State Police; Oregon Humane Society; USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; Oregon Public Broadcasting/Jefferson Public Radio; court and sentencing reporting.
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Complete OregonLive Story:
Former owner of Oregon roadside zoo sentenced for severe animal neglect, drug offenses

Related Reading/Resource:

WHAT CAN THE HISTORY OF AN EXOTIC CAT FACILITY TELL US?
Exotic Cat Exploiter Registry

Before visiting, donating to, or promoting a facility that keeps exotic cats, it helps to look beyond its current website. 

KeepingWildlifeWild.org
Evidence • Education • Accountability
 

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