{"id":421857,"date":"2026-10-08T03:08:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T03:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/421857\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T03:08:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T03:08:56","slug":"peta-demands-fort-lauderdale-officials-shut-down-petting-zoo-capybara-cafe-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/421857\/","title":{"rendered":"PETA demands Fort Lauderdale officials shut down petting zoo Capybara Caf\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Capybara Caf\u00e9, a new Fort Lauderdale indoor zoo where customers pay to pet and feed exotic rodents, is facing calls for an immediate shutdown following animal welfare complaints, zoning disputes, and state misdemeanor charges against its nonprofit parent company.<\/p>\n

The controversy comes amid a surge in viral, social media-driven exotic animal attractions across Florida. In an open letter to a Fort Lauderdale city attorney last week, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called for the facility\u2019s shutdown and for an investigation into its owner, Stephanie Angel.<\/p>\n

In a South Florida Sun Sentinel interview this week, Angel called PETA\u2019s allegations \u201cfactually inaccurate\u201d and rebutted the accusations, arguing her caf\u00e9s and nonprofit have done nothing wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one big lie,\u201d Angel said. \u201cPETA doesn\u2019t care about truth or facts or about the good that we do. They just care about accusations and innuendo. They\u2019re a loud minority, but most people in Fort Lauderdale support us.\u201d<\/p>\n

PETA\u2019s Sept. 22 letter has sparked ire from animal-rights advocates, including Fort Lauderdale private investigator Ana Maria Campos<\/a> and the New York charity World Animal Protection, which posted on Facebook last week<\/a> that Capybara Caf\u00e9 \u201cis selling animal cruelty and calling it cute.\u201d<\/p>\n

The criticism comes as Capybara Caf\u00e9s have risen across Florida in recent years, driven by the semi-aquatic rodent\u2019s viral fame<\/a> in TikTok and Instagram songs and memes<\/a>. It also comes amid heightened scrutiny<\/a> over exotic animal tourist attractions like Sloth World in Orlando.<\/p>\n

Capybara Caf\u00e9, which offers no food or drink to humans, opened Sept. 17<\/a> in Fort Lauderdale\u2019s Thrive District and is Angel\u2019s third one, joining locations in St. Petersburg and St. Augustine. Its 5,000-square-foot lounge lets patrons book timed group or private \u201cencounters\u201d with the rodents and other exotic animals such as an African-crested porcupine, a three-banded armadillo, two Virginia opossums, six ferrets and two rabbits. A portion of profits benefits sanctuary operations, medical care and area animal-rehab clinics, Angel said.<\/p>\n

In a Sun Sentinel interview, Cydnee Bence, a PETA attorney, alleged Noah\u2019s Ark Sanctuary has a \u201chistory of noncompliance\u201d with state and federal regulatory agencies.<\/p>\n

Among PETA\u2019s claims, which are refuted by Capybara Caf\u00e9\u2019s owner:<\/p>\n

Four young capybaras \u201cdied without adequate veterinary care,\u201d according to PETA, at Noah\u2019s Ark Sanctuary, a nonprofit animal rehabilitation clinic in northern Florida that owns multiple Capybara Caf\u00e9 locations.Fort Lauderdale\u2019s Capybara Caf\u00e9 was operating without a valid business tax receipt in an area not zoned for wild-animal petting zoos, PETA alleges.After hours, capybaras and other exotic creatures are daily moved to a house in the city not zoned for \u201can animal-oriented business.\u201dThe Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has filed misdemeanor charges against Angel for failure to report a lemur bite on an employee at a Capybara Caf\u00e9 in St. Augustine.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnimals shouldn\u2019t be used as entertainment props in strange tourist traps,\u201d Bence said. \u201cWe want the city to step in and see this business shut down and for the animals to be sent to a reputable facility to get the care they desperately need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t see anything so serious\u2019<\/p>\n

Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Steve Glassman, a self-described \u201cadvocate\u201d for Capybara Caf\u00e9, said there are no plans to investigate the business. Despite PETA\u2019s letter claiming the opposite, Capybara Caf\u00e9 has valid licenses and tax receipts to operate in the city, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re zoned as a retail use because they\u2019re basically selling an experience, an activity center,\u201d Glassman said. \u201cIf there\u2019s evidence of problems, it will necessitate taking a look at that. But I don\u2019t see anything so serious that it rises to that level.\u201d<\/p>\n

City records show Capybara Caf\u00e9\u2019s business tax license<\/a> was marked \u201cpending\u201d for two weeks after opening but was valid as of Sept. 30 \u2014 contradicting PETA\u2019s claim that the business lacks proper tax receipts. Glassman suggested the delay is \u201cprobably some bureaucratic hold-up and nothing bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the city has already issued two code violations against Angel\u2019s properties.<\/p>\n

One, on Sept. 8<\/a>, states that a cage and pond was being built without a permit at the same Fort Lauderdale home PETA referenced in its letter. That property is registered to Noah\u2019s Ark Sanctuary. It gave Angel an Oct. 13 reinspection deadline.<\/p>\n

Angel confirmed that address is owned by her nonprofit, Noah\u2019s Ark, but denied that capybaras and other exotic animals are being kept there overnight.<\/p>\n

A second code violation for the same address, issued on Sept. 23<\/a>, mentions keeping \u201cprohibited wild animals including but not limited to, capybaras\u201d and that code violation must be resolved by Oct. 8, according to city documents.<\/p>\n

A still-active job listing<\/a> for a \u201cLive-In Animal Care & Transport Specialist\u201d lists the same address and mentions caring \u201cfor our animals both at their residence and at our caf\u00e9\u201d in the description.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of our addresses but we don\u2019t disclose where they go after the caf\u00e9 closes because we\u2019re afraid people will try to steal the animals,\u201d Angel said. \u201cI don\u2019t know why [the city] gave us a violation, but we\u2019re legally allowed to keep the animals where we keep them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capybara deaths<\/p>\n

Spokespeople for both the FWC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) told the Sun Sentinel in mid-September that the nonprofit holds active state and federal wildlife exhibition permits.<\/p>\n

Even so, Noah\u2019s Ark Sanctuary has racked up multiple violations from both agencies.<\/p>\n

A USDA inspection report from July 2025 states that four capybaras \u2014 two 5-month-old females (named Latte and Espresso), a 4-month-old male (Beans), and 9-month-old male (Reese) \u2014 died at Noah\u2019s Ark Sanctuary between December 2024 and July 2025. Two capybaras died after showing injuries consistent with bites from other capybaras, while two others had symptoms including low body temperature and blood sugar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe circumstances of these deaths demonstrate that this facility does not have a sufficient number of adequately trained employees to maintain the professionally acceptable level of husbandry practices,\u201d the USDA inspector wrote in the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey haven\u2019t met the minimum standards of animal welfare, and it\u2019s resulted in the deaths of animals,\u201d said Bence, the PETA attorney. \u201cAll of their facilities should be closed, not just Fort Lauderdale.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Capybaras<\/p>\n

Capybaras roam around the Fort Lauderdale facility during an employee training session on Sept. 15, 2026. (Carline Jean\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Angel, for her part, said she has filed an appeal against the USDA report and insisted no Capybara Caf\u00e9s have been shut down. The Sun Sentinel could not confirm the existence of this appeal.<\/p>\n

Part of the sanctuary\u2019s mission is rehabilitating injured animals, Angel said, and three capybaras \u201ccame from another facility\u201d and couldn\u2019t be saved. A fourth \u201cwas prescribed the wrong medication by our veterinarian, which is toxic to capybaras,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really upset about it,\u201d Angel said. \u201cWe try to save all the animals we can, but they arrived in poor condition. It wasn\u2019t my organization that caused their deaths. We have 33 capybaras now and have had zero problems with our animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a May 29 Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission citation said Angel \u201cfailed to notify [the FWC] of a bite to an employee caused by a tri-colored lemur\u201d at the Capybara Caf\u00e9 in St. Augustine on April 18. The employee was later treated at an emergency room.<\/p>\n

For the violation, Angel faces a second-degree misdemeanor charge punishable by up to 60 days in jail or a $500 fine, according to state law<\/a>. She is scheduled to appear at an Oct. 20 pretrial hearing in the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in St. Johns County.<\/p>\n

Angel said that because the lemur bite happened to an employee and not a member of the public, \u201cstaff are exempt from the law and this case should be dismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFlorida is great at assigning citations and blame without finding facts,\u201d she said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have to report this to FWC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glassman, unaware of the animal deaths and the state\u2019s misdemeanor charge, said it doesn\u2019t change his opinion about Capybara Caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would hope there\u2019s no mistreatment of animals in this facility, and I haven\u2019t been led to believe there is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Abraham Fish, Capybara Caf\u00e9\u2019s landlord, said he spent weeks vetting Angel\u2019s nonprofit and received letters of support from wildlife rescues before agreeing to a lease.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you firsthand, Stephanie loves animals,\u201d Fish added. \u201cShe\u2019s teaching people how to rub capybara bellies. She\u2019s giving money to rehab clinics. The place is packed every day and people love it. Look at her Google reviews. Bottom line: If USDA or FWC [haven\u2019t] revoked her licenses, I don\u2019t see anything wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n