Animals Denied Veterinary Care, Kept in Filth at Van Buren Township Chinchilla-Breeding Factory; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe

For Immediate Release:
July 23, 2024

Contact:
Reed Bolonyi 202-483-7382

Damning, just-released federal reports reveal that R & R Chinchilla Inc.—a breeding factory near Jenera that confined over 350 chinchillas as of last month—has repeatedly been cited by federal officials for 26 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, including housing animals in filthy conditions and denying them veterinary care. In response, PETA rushed a letter today to City of Findlay Law Director Donald Rasmussen asking him to investigate the facility and file applicable charges against those responsible for the animals’ persistent neglect.

According to the reports, the facility received its fifth citation for unsanitary conditions in less than two years on June 12, when a federal veterinarian found a “thick buildup” of hair, debris, and dust on at least 30% of the animal cages as well as dust and cobwebs accumulated on walls, windowsills, vents, and items on shelves in rooms where animals were confined. In October, an inspector found at least 27 chinchillas with no water, including a nursing mother and her two babies, who “drank v[o]raciously for approximately 4 minutes” once water was provided. The same day, the inspector found two chinchillas confined to a 1-square-foot cage with no way to hide from or avoid each other. The report notes that both chinchillas—one of whom was “nearly bald”—had “excessive hair loss” and that neither had received veterinary care for their condition.

“At miserable breeding factories like R & R Chinchilla Inc., animals are confined in filthy conditions, denied proper care, and treated as nothing but commodities to be churned out as cheaply as possible,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA calls on Findlay authorities to prosecute those responsible and urges everyone never to buy any animal from a breeder or a pet store.”

PETA is pursuing charges under state law because the federal government doesn’t render relief or aid to animals during its inspections and these violations carry no criminal or civil penalties.

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 Rasmussen follows.

July 23, 2024

The Honorable Donald J. Rasmussen

Law Director

City of Findlay

Dear Mr. Rasmussen:

I’m writing to request that your office (and the proper law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and, as suitable, file criminal charges against those responsible for the persistent neglect of chinchillas at R & R Chinchilla Inc., a breeding facility at 7754 State Route 103 in Van Buren Township. PETA urges investigators to visit the facility with a veterinarian who has expertise in chinchilla health and welfare to identify any animals in need of care and opine on the conditions of and for the approximately 353 chinchillas there.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspector and three veterinary medical officers documented neglect at the facility in the attached reports. On June 12, a federal veterinarian found “a thick buildup of dust, hair and debris on the top and sides of” numerous cages and dust and cobwebs on the vents in rooms where animals were confined. Similar filthy conditions were found on November 7, 2023; October 25, 2023; January 23, 2023; and September 13, 2022.

On October 25, 2023, an inspector also found that a chinchilla and her two nursing babies had been deprived of water. Once water was provided, they “drank v[o]raciously for approximately 4 minutes.” At least 24 other chinchillas were found without water, and “half … immediately drank” when it was provided. The same day, two chinchillas with “excessive hair loss” were found in a 1-square-foot cage—one was “nearly bald,” and the other had “approximately 1 inch by 1 inch patch of hair missing” with “slightly red” skin. They had been confined like this for “at least” two days and had been deprived of veterinary care for their condition.

All these findings may violate Ohio’s cruelty-to-animals statute, R.C. § 959.13, which prohibits people from denying animals “change of air” and a “sufficient quantity” of water and relief from unnecessary suffering. Along with the seven violations outlined above, the USDA has cited R & R Chinchilla for 19 additional violations of federal law. The agency’s action renders no aid or relief whatsoever to animals on site, carries no criminal or civil penalties, and doesn’t preempt criminal liability under state law for acts of animal neglect. If you’d like to learn more about the USDA’s findings, please see the contact information for the office in Riverdale, Maryland, here.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Please let us know if we can assist you.

Sincerely,

Elise Fisher

Evidence Analyst

Cruelty Investigations Department

PETA