Former Southern Oregon zoo owner to be sentenced for severe animal neglect, drugs

Police and other state agency officials obtained multiple search warrants and raided the park on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (The Oregonian/Courtesy) Brian Tenney, who owned the now-shuttered West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon, is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday afternoon to seven years and six months in prison for neglecting more than 40 animals at the southern Oregon roadside zoo, as well as for drug offenses. Under the plea agreement, a Coos County judge will be asked to order Tenney, 54, to pay $340,922.61 in restitution. He will also be banned from possessing or living with any domestic animals and prohibited from possessing numerous classes of animals for 15 years following his felony conviction. Tenney pleaded guilty in April to charges of neglecting lions, a leopard, a camel and many other animals at the Bandon roadside zoo he operated. He also pleaded guilty to one count each of racketeering, methamphetamine delivery, unlawful possession of a machine gun, short-barreled firearm or silencer, and recklessly endangering another person. Oregon State Police launched an investigation after receiving inspection reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in October 2024. Working with law enforcement officers from the Oregon Humane Society, investigators also obtained records from the park's attending veterinarian at Bandon Veterinary Clinic. Between May 15 and May 18, 2025, authorities served multiple search warrants at the zoo and removed more than 270 live animals representing over 40 species. They also seized a 'substantial quantity' of drugs, drug packaging materials and firearms, according to special deputy district attorney Jake Kamins. Investigators discovered animals suffering from serious, preventable injuries due to inadequate care and unsafe housing. Dead animals found in a freezer showed signs of starvation upon post-mortem examination. Email newsletter signup Among the most troubling cases, according to the prosecutor: • A tiger named Rocko, found dead in a freezer, had reportedly died in October 2023 after fighting with another tiger. A necropsy revealed the tiger actually died from starvation — its stomach was empty and it suffered from muscle atrophy. • A fishing cat, a wild cat native to Asia, had allegedly died in December 2024 from falling off a perch. A necropsy, though, indicated it likely starved to death. The animal also had been found frozen. • Three kinkajous (honey bears) suffered from dehydration, malnutrition and conjunctivitis in an enclosure littered with feces, urine and spoiled food. One collapsed after being transported to another wildlife safari, gasping for breath and unable to stand. It had end-stage heart failure and was euthanized. • A camel found extremely weak with difficulty holding its head upright had a large, open neck wound swarming with flies. It was euthanized on scene. Tests revealed chronic dental disease, maggots extending from jaw to neck and lack of proper veterinary care. The remaining camels were all underweight, with shelters lacking proper bedding and adequate fencing. • A javelina limping with two fractured teeth was found to have severe arthritis, a missing digit and jaw disintegration upon examination by the Oregon Zoo. It was also euthanized. • A chimpanzee named George was housed alone in a cage far too small for him, despite being a highly social species that should never be kept in isolation. The enclosure contained exposed rust and rotting wood. It took multiple state troopers and veterinary personnel hours to safely remove George using tranquilizers. He was too thin with callouses on both knees. After transfer to the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in Washington, he tested positive for herpes simplex and Epstein-Barr virus, which a veterinarian believes he acquired from human handlers who failed to use proper protective equipment. In his new home, George has received a proper diet, been reintroduced to other chimps and shown vast improvements in condition and mood. • A lioness was kept in a windowless cement building with no natural light — conditions described as a 'nightmare' for the animal, which was exhibiting open-mouthed breathing and other indications of stress. A lynx was similarly confined in a windowless enclosure and found with overgrown nails and suffering from diarrhea and dehydration. • Water buffalo had no water-wallowing area and suffered from dry, patchy, flaking skin. • The park lacked a permit for its six porcupines. One sent to Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo suffered cardiopulmonary arrest while under anesthesia and could not be resuscitated. It had multiple chronic conditions, including a severe lung infection. Tenney's defense attorneys, Jason Short and Dan Olsen, said their client accepted responsibility and believes the recommended sentence is fair and substantial. After reviewing thousands of pages of reports, veterinary records, photos and inspection documents, Short and Olsen called the case unlike any other in their nearly three decades of criminal law practice. The lawyers emphasized that Tenney did not 'set out to harm animals' when he inherited the family business, which had operated on the southern Oregon coast since the early 1970s. The operation simply grew too large for him to manage, they said. 'There is a profound difference between someone who intentionally abuses animals for pleasure or financial gain and someone who gradually loses the ability to properly manage an increasingly overwhelming operation,' Short and Olsen wrote in court documents. 'The evidence demonstrates failures of management, judgment, supervision and oversight. Those failures became criminal. Mr. Tenney now acknowledges that.' They added that the negotiated outcome 'protects the public. It permanently removes Mr. Tenney from the operation and possession of the categories of animals involved in this case. It imposes a lengthy prison sentence. And it avoids years of additional litigation over one of the largest and most complex animal neglect prosecutions ever brought in Oregon.' Tenney had been the sole owner of the park and in charge since approximately 2006. He employed eight people and lived in a mobile home on the property with the park's manager and co-defendant Edith Beckner, 32. Beckner is set to change her plea to charges on Tuesday after also facing a 367-count indictment charging her with animal neglect and racketeering. Among the places that cared for the animals were PAWS for Performing Animal Welfare Society, the WildCat Ridge Sanctuary in Scotts Mills and the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon; the Wildcat Sanctuary, in Sandstone, Minn.; Safe Haven Wildlife Sanctuary in Imlay, Nevada; Lions, Tigers & Bear Rescue in Alpine, Calif.; Hemker Park & Zoo in Freeport, Minn.; Fresno Chaffee Zoo in Fresno, Calif.; and the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in Cle Elum, Wash., according to the prosecutor. The police raids also uncovered approximately 80 grams of methamphetamine, 8 grams of cocaine and dozens of guns and ammunition, including a machine gun. Twelve of the firearms found on the property had been reported stolen by Tenney in December 2023, but he never reported having recovered them. Separately, four people were sentenced in federal court for breaking into Tenney's Bandon home and private vault in 2023, stealing approximately $1 million in cash, gold and coins. One participant later returned and stole about 40 guns. On January 31, 2025, Tenney was arrested for driving under the influence after being stopped in Bandon for swerving in and out of his lane. A breath test showed a blood-alcohol level of .14 — nearly twice the legal limit. Tenney is working to sell his home to satisfy the restitution requirements, his lawyers said. The sentencing hearing before Judge Andrew E. Combs is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday in Coos County Circuit Court.