KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT) – Zoo Knoxville says it is operating within federal law after an animal advocate said he filed a complaint with federal wildlife officials over photos showing visitors handling the zoo’s lion cub.
Jeff Kremer, a retired animal advocate and former zoo professional, said he filed complaints with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture after seeing photos on social media showing visitors holding and touching the zoo’s infant lion cub.
The photos, posted publicly on Facebook in April, show several visitors with the cub, including Tennessee State Senator Richard Briggs. One image shows a visitor placing her finger inside the cub’s mouth. That same visitor wrote in a Facebook post that she could say she had been bitten by a lion…