Wild Ride

Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari has been the focus of several legal matters and complaints over the years.

1998: Wild Wilderness pays an $8,000 fine to settle U.S. Department of Agriculture accusations of violations ranging from poor record-keeping to unsanitary conditions and improper pens, all of which occurred in 1993 and 1994.

2002: Freddy Wilmoth, who at the time was a Wild Wilderness manager, pleads guilty in federal court to a misdemeanor charge of violating the Endangered Species Act. He is sentenced to six months of home confinement and three years of probation and is ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution. Wilmoth had been charged for selling four endangered tigers that were later killed for their hides.

2005: A Benton County woman sues Wild Wilderness, claiming a monkey bit off much of her hand, including two fingers, as she was preparing to feed it during a visit to the park in 2004. The case was settled and the result is confidential, according to Chadd Mason, a Fayetteville attorney who represented the woman.

2015: A Benton County jury awards $916,745 to Wild Wilderness in compensation for 9 acres of the park taken by Southwest Electric Power for the placement of high-voltage lines. The utility company originally offered Wild Wilderness $36,600 for the land.