PETA asks McMaster to ban ‘direct contact' with exotic animals in wake of Horry County man's death in farm's kangaroo enclosure

Yahoo

13-05-2025

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The animal-rights group PETA has asked Gov. Henry McMaster to ban 'direct contact with wild and exotic animals in South Carolina' after a man was found dead this weekend in a kangaroo and wallaby enclosure in Horry County.
Eric Slate, 52, was found dead late Friday night inside the enclosure at the family-owned and operated 5 Star Farm on Highway 746 near Loris. The Horry County Coroner's Office said he died from 'blunt force injuries' but said the investigation is ongoing and that an autopsy would be conducted.
Robert Slate, Eric Slate's brother, told News13 in an exclusive interview on Sunday that his brother's body had several abrasions and other marks, but nothing that would indicate the brutality of a kangaroo attack. He said Eric had been complaining of chest pains in the days before his death.
An incident report provided by Horry County police said Eric Slate had 'clear signs of injury' but did not specify the extent of them.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Tuesday in a news release that it's not unusual for people to be injured when 'captive animals are exploited for entertainment.' The group cited two incidents that have happened in recent years, one in which a monkey escaped from Doc Antle's Myrtle Beach Safari and attacked a woman, and another in which a child was bitten by a prairie dog at Ballyhoo Petting Zoo in Anderson.
PETA also said E. coli, Salmonella and other pathogens that can spread through direct or indirect animal contact are often found at petting zoos.
'Denying animals everything natural and important to them and subjecting them to a barrage of grabbing hands is a recipe for disaster,' said Jonathan Morris, an associate director of legal advocacy for PETA. 'PETA is urging Governor McMaster to ban these dangerous and exploitative hands-on encounters for the safety of all South Carolinians, humans and other animals alike.'
Robert Slate responded Tuesday afternoon to PETA's concerns, telling News13 that any governing body or expert is welcome to visit his family's farm to view the enclosures and learn more about how the animals are treated.
Below is the letter to McMaster, signed by Morris, in its entirety:
'I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to kindly request that you initiate a ban on public contact with wild and exotic animals in South Carolina. According to recent reports on May 10, a man was found dead with 'multiple blunt force injuries' while inside an enclosure with kangaroos and wallabies at a roadside zoo called 5 Star Farm in Loris, SC. This recent incident epitomizes the public safety hazards and animal welfare concerns associated with direct contact between wild and exotic animals and humans.
Public contact with wild animals is inherently dangerous. Human handling is a significant stressor for wild animals, and public contact is particularly stressful because it forces these animals into interactions with unfamiliar individuals causing them to feel unsafe. In addition to the risk of physical injury, contact with wild animals risks transmission of numerous zoonotic diseases, including rabies, smallpox, leptospirosis, salmonellosis, and E. coli.
Captivity and training do not take away a wild animal's potential to inflict harm, and it doesn't take much for humans to trigger those instincts, potentially resulting in injury or worse—like the recent incident at 5 Star Farms shows—if the animal claws, bites, kicks, or flees. Such risks are amplified at unaccredited, for-profit facilities like 5 Star Farm where staff often have minimal experience or training, and there are limited if any safety polices in place.
Animal welfare is inextricably linked to the increased risks posed by direct contact encounters at roadside zoos because failing to meet a wild animal's needs in a captive setting can cause psychological distress. Wild and exotic animals at unaccredited facilities typically live in a state of chronic stress due to poor welfare, which can result in injurious or aggressive behavior.
Public interactions with wild and exotic animals have resulted in countless incidents of animals biting, scratching, or otherwise injuring unsuspecting customers. For example, in 2023, a teenager was bitten by a sloth during a public encounter at a roadside zoo in Michigan, and had to undergo post- exposure rabies treatment. In 2022, a 17-month old child was attacked by a lemur at a petting zoo in Georgia, which left the child with 'blood gushing out' of his head. In 2022, a three-year old was rushed to the hospital for a gaping wound that needed stitches after an iguana at a Forth Worth facility attacked him. In Anderson, South Carolina, in 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited Ballyhoo Petting Zoo after a prairie dog bit and injured a child. In Horry County, in 2021, a monkey escaped from Myrtle Beach Safari and attacked a woman at her home, biting her on the arm.
The deadly incident at 5 Star Farm highlights the grave dangers direct contact with wild animals presents to both members of the public and captive wild and exotic animals. Accordingly, PETA respectfully urges you to initiate a ban on public contact with wild and exotic animals.'
* * *
Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.