Judge Orders Former Zoo Owners To Pay Fines

A judge has ordered that the owners of a now-shuttered Manchester roadside zoo must pay $70,000 in fines or serve jail time for animals that went missing before a court-ordered rescue operation. Tom and Pam Sellner, of Cricket Hollow Animal Park, have been found in violation of the court-ordered removal of their animals, according to an order filed by Iowa District Judge Monica Ackley. The initial order, which also closed the zoo, was issued following a 2019 civil trial during which Ackley found the animals’ living conditions “deplorable” and declared the zoo to be a public nuisance.