Va. Beach exotic animal store criticized by PETA

A pair of exotic animals isn't typically found in a pet store, but wander into Animal Jungle in Virginia Beach and you'll find a serval and marmoset.

Do the African wild cat and small monkey belong there?

While the store has drawn complaints - and the attention of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - owner Robert Hames says the serval and marmoset are well-cared for.

"The environment they're in is cleaned everyday," Hames said. "They're well-fed. They are domestically-bred animals. They were not taken out of the wild."

Lisa Wathne, the captive exotic animal specialist with PETA, said the group gets lots of calls about pet stores in general, but also gets regular complaints about Animal Jungle.

"I think it's mostly because of the serval and the marmoset," Wathne said. "People get very disturbed when they see those two animals in there. The concern people have is that these are wild animals living in enclosures in completely unnatural conditions."

"Marmosets are incredibly social animals," she added, "and this one is completely alone which is just the most cruel thing you can do to a primate."

Some locals may be upset at seeing the exotic animals in the Holland Road pet store, but since late 2006, Virginia Beach Animal Control has made six service calls to the store to check out complaints of animal cruelty, and each time the department has found no evidence of wrongdoing.

"All of them were cleared out," said Virginia Beach Police Sgt. Richard Mlincsek. "There's plenty of food, plenty of water. I think our guidelines are pretty much: Are they healthy? Are they getting fed? That's what we have to go by.

"They check that they're clean and that the environment's clean, and that they're providing for the animals."

Hames is used to the scrutiny his store sometimes gets. But he said it's no coincidence his 32-year-old store has always checked out when Animal Control visits.

"We can't have these animals unless we're permitted by the USDA," Hames said, adding that in order to maintain the permit, he must maintain certain standards so it can be renewed annually.

"They have minimum requirements that the government says you have to maintain," he said. "We're so far above the minimum requirement, that when they come in to investigate, it's not even an issue."

Although Hames admits the two exotic animals are not for sale and are kept solely as an attraction, he tries to make sure they are comfortable.

To that end, Hames had two enclosures specially built for the serval and the marmoset and he said they are much larger than they have to be.

The marmoset's enclosure is 8-foot-by8-foot-by-8-foot, and the serval's room is 16-feet-by10-feet-by-14-feet and has ramps and platforms the wild cat can climb.

Hames used to have another marmoset monkey, a male that he kept as company for the store's existing marmoset. But he donated the male to a primate facility in Florida after six months of the monkeys' nearly constant fighting.

"The minimal requirements in my opinion are criminal," he added. "We're not doing anything wrong. We're following the law to the letter and then some."

Wathne said she's not surprised that Animal Control didn't find any violations during its visits to the shop. The laws that apply to animals in general, she said, are so vague they are virtually nonexistent.

"So that doesn't mean that the conditions are good or even appropriate," Wathne said. "Unfortunately these conditions are typical of pet stores. I wish they were unique to Animal Jungle, but they're not."

Rita Frankenberry, 222-5102, rita.frankenberry@pilotonline.com