Broken Arrow Exotic Animal Sanctuary Closes To Public

An exotic animal park in Broken Arrow is closing after licensing and other problems. Volunteers hope they can find a new owner and donations to continue their mission.

Sunday, July 29th 2012, 10:28 pm

By: News On 6

Broken Arrow Exotic Animal Sanctuary Closes To Public

A Broken Arrow exotic animal sanctuary is now closed to the public. Sunday was the last day for people to visit Safari's in Broken Arrow.

Earlier this year, the park was put on notice that it would lose its license after USDA inspectors found cages and fences in disrepair, too many pests, and other violations. The park has been open for 17 years, and workers feel inspectors were just being too nit picky.

Another problem is Safari's founder and owner is retiring.

Several volunteers have applied for USDA licenses, and they are actively looking for a new owner.

Frank Gaddy says they hope to only be closed for about two to three months.

"We have enough savings to get us through the next few months," Gaddy said."We're always looking for donations and volunteers. We are completely volunteer staffed."

Gaddy says their youngest volunteer is 12 years old.

Safari's is home to more than 250 animals.

The USDA has placed Safari's on probation for two years.