Jackson’s animals fine, officials say
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, January 18, 2006
LOS OLIVOS, Calif. – The giraffes and other exotic animals Michael Jackson has kept at his Neverland Ranch are not being mistreated, federal officials have concluded.
The Department of Agriculture sent an inspector to the 2,600-acre ranch in Central California last month in response to a complaint from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA based its complaint on European tabloid reports that animals were being kept in substandard conditions.
“I’m unaware of any violations of the Animal Welfare Act at Neverland,” Darby Holladay, a spokesman with the USDA in Washington, said Tuesday.
Along with giraffes, Jackson’s ranch has been home to elephants, snakes, orangutans, tigers and a crocodile.
