Feds: Cedar Point guests released camels and goats
It seems park visitors and not clever camels and goats were behind a pair of daring escapes this summer from a petting zoo at Cedar Point.
An inspection report from a visit by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Barnyard attraction at the Sandusky amusement park found that the culprits behind the June 11 escape of two camels and a bunch of goats just four days later were park guests.
In both instances, the camels and goats were able to leave the petting zoo area and roam free along the park’s Frontier Trail much to the surprise of park guests.
No one was injured in either instance.
Federal investigators say the camels were able to escape from the attraction that had closed for the day because Kentucky-based
Honey Hill, which supplies and staffs the attraction, did not maintain adequate public barriers.
Federal inspectors say a similar thing happened while the attraction was open to the public and the goats were able to escape.
“A member of the public was able to enter an animal building and opened a gate allowing the goats access to areas that were not secure for animal containment,” the inspection found.
Federal investigators say Honey Hill, which did not return a request for comment, has since added “additional security measures” since the two incidents.
The inspection also found that the attraction “did not have an adequate number of readily identifiable employees or attendants present during periods of public contact” during a June 17 inspection.
And a section of woven wire fencing of the attraction was ordered to be repaired that was “in disrepair in an area housing goats, llamas, and alpacas” with “broken wires creating sharp points and an unintended open area in the fence” that could pose a risk for injury and even escape of the animals.
All three issues found in the inspection were found to be “non-critical” items that needed to be addressed.
Cedar Point did not return a request for comment.