Mt. Hope Auction Sponsors: Reconsider Supporting the Suffering of Wild and Exotic Animals!

In September 2023, eyewitnesses attended the Mt. Hope (aka “Mt. Horror”) Auction in Ohio and observed a capuchin named Sophia in a barren wire cage being set down in the middle of an auction ring. With bleachers full of humans all around her and speakers amplifying the incessant chanting of the auctioneer, 20-month-old Sophia immediately screamed and frantically buried herself under a small blanket in her cage. If she’d been born in nature, Sophia would’ve had a large family and lush tropical forest canopies to retreat to for refuge. There in that auction ring, she was alone and in a cage so grossly inadequate that inspectors cited the auction and the dealer for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Sophia is one of thousands of wild and exotic animals who’ve been forced to endure nightmarish conditions at the “Mt. Horror” Auction. Federal inspection reports from September 2022 to November 2023 describe animals who were left for dead and denied fulfillment of even their most basic needs, such as water, veterinary care, and adequate space to move around. Attendees at the most recent events, in September and November, documented that animals had broken legs, open wounds, respiratory infection symptoms, diarrhea, hair and feather loss, matted coats, and overgrown hooves and that wild and exotic animals were emaciated, lethargic, and exhibiting abnormal repetitive behaviors, a clear sign of stress.

Despite this chronic, well-documented history of horrors and egregious display of speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, some businesses are willing to sponsor this almost unfathomable suffering.

Urge “Mt. Horror” sponsors to shun future exotic-animal auctions.