A giraffe at Orfila Winery sparked member backlash and a PETA complaint. A surreal North County moment that felt straight out of a Christopher Moore novel.
In North County, we pride ourselves on many things: avocados, sunsets, and our uncanny ability to form a traffic jam on El Camino Real at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday. But last month, Orfila Winery added a fresh bullet point to Escondido’s civic résumé:
“Hosted a giraffe. On purpose.”
Yes. A real giraffe. At a winery. Because apparently we’ve run out of Labradoodles and acoustic guitarists.
The official name was Groovin’ with a Giraffe, which sounds like something a marketing intern pitched on hour three of a rosé tasting. The animal, a tall, bewildered blur of eyelashes, was placed in a 24-by-24-foot pen on the lawn — essentially a walk-in closet for a creature built to survey the Serengeti.
Guests weren’t allowed to pet or feed the giraffe, which was for the best, since the animal spent most of its time staring into the cosmic void and reconsidering its life choices.
Membership Meltdown, PETA Panic
Some winery members, sensing this might be one wildlife exhibition too far, threatened to cancel their memberships. Others merely tightened their grip on their glasses and muttered about “liability.”
PETA quickly filed a federal complaint with the USDA, arguing giraffes should not be transported from “city to city or event to event” like a novelty cocktail garnish.
CBS8 showed up Monday; Orfila’s designated spokesperson responded with the classic North County No-Comment Triple Repeat™:
“I don’t think we have any comment.”
Benay’s Bird and Animal Rentals — the supplier — also didn’t respond to media inquiries, though they do hold a USDA exhibitor license. No recent welfare citations, but PETA was unimpressed:
“The law falls short of what these animals need.”
Meanwhile, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reported no complaints received, which may be the most North County thing about this entire saga.
The Christopher Moore Parallel
The whole episode felt like a chapter from a Christopher Moore novel, the ones set in coastal towns where supernatural chaos tiptoes into everyday life. Pine Cove once faced off against a giant lizard; San Francisco got a demonic fruit bat. But even Moore never dared to conjure a giraffe at a winery.
Not because it’s impossible — clearly — but because it risks sounding too implausible for fiction.
In a Moore novel, the giraffe would escape, trampling cabernet vines on its way to I-15, pursued by retirees, tourists in flip-flops, and one deeply committed animal-rights activist who accidentally sets fire to a tasting room.
Instead, our giraffe simply looked tired.
And that might be the most poignant part: real life is often weirder — and sadder — than satire.
What Happens Next?
USDA has not yet responded to PETA’s complaint.
CDFW says no one called them.
Orfila is saying nothing.
North County is doing what North County does: scrolling, sipping, posting, and arguing about zoning laws on Facebook.
Will another giraffe visit Escondido? A zebra? A moose? A new club tier — “Safari Reserve Members Only”?
Let’s hope not.
Sometimes the most radical event a winery can host is… wine.
A simple ChatGPT search on laws surrounding exotic animal transport and exhibition suggests that both Orfila and the company transporting the giraffe would have needed County and City permits for the purpose. I’m surprised more research on the part of this publication hasn’t looked into that. Additionally, in no circumstances can an exotic animal exhibition be around alcohol. I’m hopeful that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or USDA or even the County of San Diego or City of Escondido will look into this and make the appropriate fines.
There should never have been a giraffe at Orfila. The decision to exhibit one, without any consultation of the Safari Park right down the road, is extremely tone deaf and goes against our community’s values. I canceled my membership with Orfila because the values it demonstrates are not in line with my own.