After K-9 Is Stabbed and Kicked to Death, PETA Urges Officials to Keep Dogs out of Prisons

For Immediate Release:
April 9, 2024

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Sussex County, Va. –

After a 5-year-old K-9 named Rivan “was violently and repeatedly stabbed and kicked” to death while protecting a corrections officer who was trying to stop a fight involving inmates at Sussex I State Prison, PETA sent a letter today to Virginia Department of Corrections Director Chadwick Dotson urging the department to immediately stop using dogs in prisons and to reallocate resources toward modern and superior population-management techniques.

Credit: Virginia Department of Corrections

“Human officers knowingly accept the daily risks of their duties, but K-9s like Rivan don’t have any say in whether they’re subjected to stressful or even life-or-death situations,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA hopes Rivan’s violent death serves as a wake-up call to the Virginia Department of Corrections and urges the agency to honor him by ending the use of K-9s in prisons.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Dotson follows.

April 9, 2024

Chadwick Dotson

Director

Virginia Department of Corrections

Dear Mr. Dotson:

We hope this letter finds you well. I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 145,000 members and supporters in Virginia. We have heard from many Virginians deeply upset by the tragic death of 5-year-old K-9 Rivan, whom we understand was killed during an inmate altercation at Sussex I State Prison last Tuesday, April 2. According to news sources, Rivan succumbed to injuries sustained when he “was violently and repeatedly stabbed and kicked” while protecting a corrections officer who was trying to stop a fight involving four inmates believed to be MS-13 gang members. We’d like to offer our condolences to all who knew and cared about Rivan.

We respectfully urge the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) to immediately discontinue the use of dogs in correctional facilities and reallocate funding to alternative sources of population management, such as adequate human staffing, protective equipment, and modern monitoring equipment.

As you know, Virginia’s use of dogs in prisons has made headlines in recent months and even prompted the passage of legislation to regulate this controversial practice. However, media coverage and even conversations at the General Assembly neglected to consider the welfare of the dogs themselves. The disturbing circumstances surrounding Rivan’s death certainly call into question the ethics of using K-9s in prison settings, where the dogs—by the choice of humans—are routinely put in harm’s way and subjected to highly stressful and life-threatening situations. According to a statement released by your department, the inmates who stabbed and kicked Rivan to death “are incarcerated for several charges, including first degree homicide, attempted rape, kidnapping/abduction, malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, child pornography charges, grand larceny, and possession of a Schedule III Drug.”

Human officers knowingly accept and are compensated for the daily risks of their duties, but dogs do not choose their fates or sacrifices. In this day and age, there is no reason or justification for using dogs as a live shield for their human partners. Please let K-9 Rivan’s death serve as a wake-up call to the VADOC to permanently end their use in Virginia’s correctional facilities.

Thank you for your attention. May we please hear back from you soon?

Sincerely,

Daphna Nachminovitch

Senior Vice President

Cruelty Investigations Department