Judge asks MDWF&P for list of Collins Zoo’s violations

COLLINS — A Covington County Justice Court Judge has asked the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to create a comprehensive list of state regulation violations at the Collins Zoo and submit the list within 30 days.

Judge Bobby Wayne Mooney said he would give the zoo owners six months from receiving the list to make appropriate improvements to the facility. Then, after the six months, he would rule whether animals seized in a Jan. 25 raid would be returned.

Mooney said the numerous citations written to owners Gus and Betty White would await disposition until the end of the six-month period.

The Hattiesburg American reports a January seizure netted several tigers, wolf hybrids, leopards, cougars and a Rhesus macaque.