Animal Attacks At Petting Zoos

Your grandparents learned by trial and error how to interact peacefully with farm animals.  They probably got scratched by a few barn cats and pecked by a few hens before they figured out when the animals wanted to be left alone.  The closest thing you have is petting zoos, and they are worth every penny.  You get all the furry and feathery cuddles with none of the injuries.  Petting zoos are designed with risk aversion in mind.  Their target audience is the children of helicopter parents.  Therefore, the people who have been anticipating summer vacation all year because it means that there will be time to visit petting zoos will be shocked to find out that an animal killed a man at a Horry County petting zoo earlier this spring.  While premises liability laws protect paying customers of petting zoos, the kangaroo attack at the South Carolina petting zoo did not involve a paying customer and probably would not have been covered by premises liability laws even if it had.  If you have been injured in an accident, animal-related or otherwise, at a petting zoo, contact a Columbia premises liability lawyer.

What the Horry County Kangaroo Attack Tells Us About South Carolina Law

Robert Slate owns 5 Star Farm, a petting zoo in Loris, where guests can interact with a variety of animals.  The guests only interact with the animals in designated areas and only when staff members are present.  One of the newest residents of 5 Star Farm is Jack, a red kangaroo.  In April 2025, Jack moved into 5 Star Farm and took up residence in the marsupial enclosure, which he shared with several wallabies.  According to Robert Slate, Jack got along well with the wallabies.

Jack never met paying customers of the petting zoo, but he became fast friends with Robert’s brother Eric Slate, who used to visit the farm frequently.  Eric enjoyed wrestling with Jack in the marsupial enclosure.  Last week, Eric went into the enclosure when no one else was around, and later that day, Robert found him there, dead of what news reports described as “blunt force injuries.”  Eric Slate was 52 years old.

Officials are still investigating the incident; an autopsy may help determine whether Jack killed Eric.  Robert does not believe that Eric’s injuries are consistent with a kangaroo attack; kangaroos have sharp claws, and Eric’s clothes were not torn.  Eric may have died from an accidental fall or suffered a medical emergency when no one else was around, or less likely, an unknown person may have entered the property and killed him.

As for premises liability laws, they apply to places where guests pay admission; zoo owners are certainly liable if an animal escapes from its enclosure or if petting zoo animals are not properly supervised.  A person entering an animal’s enclosure counts as trespassing, and the owners are not liable unless they made it too easy for customers to enter the enclosure.

Let Us Help You Today

The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you pursue a premises liability claim if you got injured at a petting zoo.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Sources:

live5news.com/2025/05/12/horry-county-farm-owner-speaks-out-after-brother-found-dead-kangaroo-enclosure/

vice.com/en/article/u-s-man-died-of-blunt-force-injuries-after-suspected-fight-with-kangaroo/