Catskill, NY - Group Wants a Compassionate Retirement for the Animals of Catskill Game Farm

Catskill, NY - A newly formed local group is concerned with the well-being of the animals that are sold when Catskill Game Farm closes for good this fall and the owner sells them off.

Advocates for Game Farm Animals is a regional coalition of animal sanctuaries, non-profits and individuals, who have asked the park’s owners to consider “a compassionate retirement” for the animals.

The group said there has been no reply.

AGFA Chairman James Van Alstine said they are concerned about the possible sale of animals to private owners, second rate zoos or worse. “Our worst fear is that either directly or indirectly many of the animals may wind up in canned hunts, what are largely called hunting preserves or shooting clubs, where clients pay for the privilege of shooting an exotic species animal on private land,” he said. “That’s a legal practice, but even among hunters, it is usually considered quite unethical.”