**Oregon State Police served search warrants at West Coast Game Park Safari south of Bandon in Coos County last May as part of a long-running investigation of the park and its owner.** (OSP photo)

By MAXINE BERNSTEIN/The Oregonian/OregonLive

The owner of the now-shuttered West Coast Game Park pleaded guilty Monday to more than 40 charges of neglecting the animals at the Bandon roadside zoo he operated.

Brian Tenney, 53, pleaded guilty in Coos County Circuit Court to 43 charges of animal neglect and one count each of racketeering, delivery of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of a machine gun, short-barreled firearm or silencer and recklessly endangering another person.

The racketeering charge accused Tenney of unlawful possession of wildlife and improper care of wildlife between July 1, 2023 and May 15, 2025, at the game park. The racketeering conviction carries a maximum prison term of 20 years.

Tenney is out of custody and will be sentenced on July 20. His co-defendant, Edith Sarah Alline Beckner, 31, of Bandon, is scheduled to change her plea at a separate hearing that day, according to court records.

Jacob Kamins, a special deputy district attorney on the case, noted in court papers that the charges reflected a “violation of public trust or professional responsibility,” created a significant risk of danger to the public, involved multiple animals and was part of an organized illegal operation.

State police and other state agencies raided the safari in mid-May 2025 after a monthslong investigation, according to the state police and U.S. Department of Agriculture records. They confiscated 322 animals from the safari.

The raid followed inspections last spring by the USDA that found a lion, leopard and lioness were underweight with decreased muscle mass and bones prominently visible under their skin, as well as missing or inaccurate records of other animals and some animals missing that had previously been examined, according to federal records.

A camel at the game park was euthanized due to its grave medical condition after officials began to assess the conditions of the animals on the property, according to state police.

Federal agriculture inspectors had raised concerns about the 21-acre park in Bandon since at least 2016, when an employee tried to shoot an agitated black bear but missed and instead wounded another bear in an enclosure. Both bears were ultimately killed.

In more recent years, inspectors found evidence that animals were wasting away without food or dying without proper documentation.

USDA inspectors identified numerous health and safety issues at the park. Those included rotten fruit in food bins, animal bones and feces piled behind buildings, animals showing signs of disease or underfeeding, a lion being confined to a den with no light, sharp edges on fences and rats running around food preparation areas, written reports show.

After a visit to the 21-acre property last December, a USDA inspector stated that a 10-year-old lion was “poorly conditioned with ribs showing, spine visible, jutting hip bones and muscle wasting.” The inspector also reported that a 15-year-old black leopard was “quite thin, with rib shadowing, and noticeable muscle wasting of his head and body.”

Multiple animals — including a coatimundi and a capybara — showed signs of disease or had died without being seen by the facility’s attending veterinarian, according to a Jan. 22, 2025 inspection report. Investigators also reported during the visit that employees were storing frozen turkeys for animal meals above a dead tiger.

Debbie Metzler, managing director of PETA Foundation’s captive wildlife, praised the state police for investigating Tenney’s actions. The nonprofit, which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also made repeated complaints about the game park to state police.

Metzler said the nonprofit will ask for a significant sentence and she expressed hope that Tenney may soon get a feeling of what it’s like to “locked in a cage and deprived of everything meaningful to him.”

Maxine Bernstein covers federal court, law enforcement and criminal justice issues for The Oregonian/OregonLive and can be reached at [email protected]