A judge has declined to reduce a fine for owners of a shuttered Manchester roadside zoo after one owner argued that they should receive credit for animals living at a wildlife sanctuary. According to a report, Iowa District Court Judge Monica Ackley filed documents stating that she would not reduce the $70,000 fine for Tom and Pam Sellner, of Cricket Hollow Animal Park, based on Pam Sellner’s testimony that the couple should have a smaller fine for animals now housed at the Wild Animal Sanctuary. Ackley previously ordered the Sellners to pay the fine after finding them guilty of contempt for animals missing during a 2019 rescue operation. The initial order to remove the animals and close the zoo was issued following a 2019 civil trial during which Ackley declared the zoo a public nuisance.
