09/23/2026
ā¼ļøPOLK COUNTY TEXAS! Our Sheriffās Office is now working with PETA in a county where agriculture, livestock, farming, fishing and rural life are a HUGE part of our community. Let that sink in!!!!
ā¼ļøAccording to information provided to our attorneys which we have proof of, Polk County Deputy Sheriff Andy Lowry are in communication with PETA regarding Wildlife Wonderland and our animals.
ā ļøConsidering everything that has happened over the past year I canāt say Iām surprised but I am incredibly disappointed. A government entity thatās put in place to protect its people is acting off emotion in opening a door that could cause Polk county a lot of problems. This is not a good look for leadership in a rural Texas county where agriculture and animal ownership are woven into the community.
āļøTexas A&M AgriLife estimated that agriculture and related activities generated approximately $1 BILLION in economic output in Polk County in 2024ā¦ including livestock, crops, timber, fishing, hunting and recreation.
So this conversation isnāt only relevant to exotic animal owners.
ā¼ļøā¼ļøCat & dog owners, Cattle ranchers, Chicken farmers, Livestock owners. Hunters, Hunting dog owners, Horse owners, Farmers, Pet owners YOURE ALL SUSCEPTIBLE NOW!
š«PETAās positions extend far beyond exotic animalsā¦.The organization publicly campaigns against hunting, fishing and animal agriculture and opposes using animals for food. PETA also maintains resources highlighting local animal ordinances, including laws that limit the number of companion animals (CATS & DOGS) people may keep.
š ļøWildlife Wonderland has spent the past year building our property specifically around containment animal welfare and public safety as we always do, itās our duty to the public and the animals who count on us.
š§¾In more than a year here weāve had no bites and no animal related public safety incidents. The only animal that left our property was a boa constrictor kept as my sonās household pet not one of our sanctuary animals and it was recovered by our ups driver.
ššš¦š»Our enclosures were built to protect our children, staff, neighbors, the public and most importantly the animals themselves. Because if an animal bites or hurts someone ultimately the animal is the one to suffer the consequences.
š®āāļøYet instead of creating clear species specific safety requirements Polk County chose sweeping restrictions affecting primates and non native reptiles.
And now weāre being told that Sheriff Byron Lyons and Deputy Sheriff Andy Lowry have been communicating with PETA through this which makes sense on the mass banning of animals this past year.
šYou may not care about Wildlife Wonderland, You may even support what theyāre doing to us. But you should care about precedent. The Sheriffās Office can choose who it communicates with today. It cannot guarantee what causes an outside organization chooses to pursue tomorrow.
š£Polk Countyās farmers,fishers, ranchers, hunters, livestock owners and animal owning families deserve to know what role PETA is playing ā¦.what information is being exchanged and exactly what involvement Sheriff Lyons and Deputy Lowry have requested from them and how they intend to keep such a powerful group at bay once they are done trying to ruin our animal rescue weāve built.
This isnāt about asking everyone to agree with us Itās about transparency. When an organization with well documented positions against practices that are common in rural Polk County the people who live here have every right to ask questions And weāre going to keep asking them.
