LOCUST GROVE, Ga. — An animal sanctuary in Locust Grove is becoming notorious for its alleged lack of care for its animals. A Georgia senator is now asking the attorney general to investigate it.
Georgia State Sen. Emanuel Jones of District 10 shared his letter addressed to Attorney General Chris Carr. In it, the senator urges Carr to conduct an "in-depth investigation on the practices" of Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary and its president Shelly Lakly.
"The Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary has recently been met with public controversy and complaints can be attributed to Shelly Lakly's term as president of the facility," Jones wrote.
He detailed the sanctuary's shutdown due to an Avian flu outbreak last year, saying it "led to the euthanasia of over 100 animals," which has also led to a federal investigation. Jones adds that under Lakly's leadership, the sanctuary has collected several complaints of animal cruelty from the United States Department of Agriculture.
"The issues pertaining to Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary have only progressed throughout the year," Jones said.
Noah's Ark, in a statement Wednesday, said the letter from Sen. Jones "appears to include false or inaccurate information and is another example of the Senator accepting one side of an issue without engaging the other side to provide all of his constituents a voice."
The sanctuary said they were "cleared to reopen by federal, state and county agencies several months ago."
In May, the sanctuary's leader was served nine court summons from Henry County citing inhumane treatment of animals, according to the senator.
Noah's Ark said in that incident they "proactively reported to the county as part of our safety protocols" and "cooperated fully with the county's review of the incident."
Jones is urging the attorney general to take the unethical violations seriously and to act with an in-depth investigation.
"The Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary has been a haven for animals for over 30 years and is a staple of the community in Henry County. I cannot sit idle with this longstanding Georgia institution becomes a fragment of what it once was," Jones said.
Noah's Ark's full statement:
Unfortunately, the Senator's letter appears to include false or inaccurate information and is another example of the Senator accepting one side of an issue without engaging the other side to provide all of his constituents a voice. For instance, the letter does not mention that Noah's Ark was cleared to reopen by federal, state and county agencies several months ago, as reported by the Henry Herald, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Saporta Report and other news outlets. The letter inaccurately describes a May 6 incident that our team proactively reported to the county as part of our safety protocols, through which we cooperated fully with the county's review of the incident. The letter also states claims about our president that are completely false.
We would like to know why Senator Jones has not been in contact with Noah's Ark since his conversation with our president last August. Since that conversation the Senator has enjoyed, but not yet accepted, an open invitation to tour Noah's Ark to see firsthand the tremendous progress made -- if he is genuinely interested in creating a viable future for the sanctuary in his district, should we not expect this elected leader to actively engage all sides and invest his time to visit Noah's Ark in person?
We feel it's time for the Senator to stop dredging up issues that were resolved months ago and instead engage with the current Noah's Ark team with an open mind for the evolution and future of what Noah's Ark will become — a better place to continue our vital mission of providing a safe haven for animals in need. Instead, the Senator's letter is another misleading distraction from this mission.
We welcome a visit from Attorney General Chris Carr to learn about and share our progress with his team. And we encourage anyone to follow our progress online via Baloo and Friends, our Facebook page named for and featuring the animals in our care.