September 30, 2025 – Town of Farmington, Wi – The chairman with the Town of Farmington will be meeting with his attorney this Tuesday afternoon regarding litigation involving a challenge to action taken in January 2025.
According to Town Chair Doug Neumann, a group is challenging an amendment to a conditional use permit that was approved by the Town Board in January 2025. The permit involved expansion of property tied to Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary.
A legal challenge has also been filed against David Fechter, the owner of Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary.
Click HERE for details on a suit by We Love Farmington vs. the Town of Farmington.
Click HERE for a second suit brought by the group We Love Farmington vs. Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary.
David Fechter was contacted this morning. He declined comment but said his statement could be posted below.
Dear Supporters of Shalom Wildlife Zoo,
Today we have to take a break from writing about animals and wildlife activity at the Zoo to update you on something less pleasant and very serious.
About a month ago we posted that Shalom Zoo is under attack by a group of Shalom haters who are doing everything in their power to shut us down. By now some of you may even be aware that Shalom has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by two of our neighbors. The persons suing us is, Andrew Willetts and Leann Beehler, who have created an organization called “We Love Farmington.” Andrew Willetts is married to Jeneva Willetts, who is a renowned author who goes by the name Jeneva Rose. Leann Beehler is married to Bruce Beehler, who was formerly the veterinarian at the Milwaukee County Zoo.
Their lawsuit seeks a court order invalidating our conditional use permit (CUP) which was granted to us back in 1995 by the Town of Farmington, Washington County. In 2024 the Farmington Town Board again updated and approved our CUP. Then in late 2024 Shalom increased our footprint again with the purchase of addition property. After 4 public meetings, in January 2025 the Town Board again approved Shalom Zoos CUP.
The January 2025 updated CUP allows us to expand Shalom Zoos operations to hold special events, such as weddings and corporate gatherings. We have been doing these events for the last 30 years, but now it will be in a much-upgraded facility on the new property. The area will also provide a space where school children can get out of the elements to enjoy their picnic lunches when visiting.
We very much would like to share this beautiful and wonderful new addition with you our loyal supporters and visitors. Their lawsuit threatens our ability to do that. Even more concerning, this lawsuit seeks to essentially end Shalom Wildlife Zoo as we know it.
The plaintiffs want the court to order that the Zoo has been violating various laws and ordinances for decades. We find these allegations ridiculous given that we have never been cited by the Town of Farmington, the County, or the State for any ordinance violations.
To our surprise, after reviewing the documentation we have received in discovery in this case and through Open Records requests, it is clear that there is a concerted effort to shut down the Shalom Zoo and our operations.
Since the Beehlers moved into our area around 2021, Shalom has been subjected to numerous complaints made with state and local government and agencies, including the Town of Farmington, the DNR, and even the Washington County Sheriff’s Department.
Leann Beehler has been aided in her efforts by RJ Khan, the president of the Forest at Farmington a homeowners association which is located behind the Zoo, and also Andrew Willetts, who moved in across the lake from us last year.
Shalom Zoo was in operation a decade before there was a Forest at Farmington homeowners association and many decades before there were people named Bruce & Leann Beehler and Andrew & Jeneva Rose Willetts living in the Town of Farmington.
Today, we filed a counterclaim and complaint against “We Love Farmington,” Leann Beehler, Andrew Willetts, and RJ Khan.
In it, you will see all the baseless complaints made against us the past few years. It is a clear attempt to harass our Zoo operations to shut Shalom down and force us to spend money to defend ourselves.
This is where we need your help. Because the We love Farmington members and RJ Khan are attacking us on many fronts, we have had to hire several attorneys who specialize in each area.
Attorneys are expensive, and the legal fees are piling up. This is part of their strategy. They want to harm our business by causing us to take revenues that normally we could put back into the Zoo and instead is forcing us to spend it on legal fees. If you would like to help with a donation to Shalom Zoo Legal Defense Fund, please CLICK HERE.
Please note, donations to help save Shalom are given from the heart and are not tax deductible.
Thank you,
David & Lana Fechter
Below are meeting minutes and comments from a public hearing December 10, 2024 in the Town of Farmington.
min-12-10-24-tb-mtgClick the arrow in the bottom left corner to advance the page
This is a working story, and more information will be posted when details become available.
I pray that David Fechter and Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary prevail in these frivolous lawsuits and that the “We love Farmington” group are held responsible for all court costs and damages.
Dave and Lana run a good wildlife sanctuary and no one is more in love of the land and animals.
Shalom wildlife has been a staple in the town for many years. Now we have a guy who just recently moved here from Milwaukee filing a lawsuit against them. My suggestion would be for the gentleman to move back to Milwaukee and don’t worry what goes on at Shalom wildlife.
can the county change the zoning and end this?
This sickens me. Shalom’s impact is felt in more than just Farmington; people come from all over the state to visit! If the plaintiffs want the township, county, and state to lose tourism dollars, just to satisfy 3 people, then they should seek psychiatric help for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).
A couple of nasty rich people move to the area and decide to dictate and control the community. Shalom wildlife zoo has been part of this wonderful community for many, many years and is loved and enjoyed by the whole community and children and adults from all over the state and beyond. To destroy a wonderful place and family just to satisfy a couple self-centered people who have recently moved here is disgusting. They can pack up and move back to wherever they came from.
Shalom! Best thing that ever happened, was deaigned and built, in the Town of Farmington.
We love what the Fechter Family has designed & accomplished!
Stand Down Land Developers!
Look for some other land to exploit!
Maybe lots & condos on the lakeside near the next data center…
Great comments, we just visited there and was very impressed by the zoo. I will donate and pray but that is all I can do. Those of you that live there, show support by putting up signs, going to meetings and talking to those that are doing this to Shalom. Power of the people will stand, I have seen it happen before.