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Exotic pet distributor near Fort Myers brought animals from a notoriously violent kennel
For immediate release:
March 1, 2021
Contact:
Moira Collie 202-483-7382
Ft. Myers, Florida. – Following the release of classified footage showing chinchillas suffering from open wounds, a severed limb with exposed bones, chronic eye diseases, severe matting and other painful, untreated conditions at the Moulton Chinchilla Ranch (MCR), PETA sent a letter to the owner of Reptile Express. Today, Donald B. Chilton is asking a Lehigh Akers pet distributor to reconsider its relationship with a large breeding farm near Chatfield, Minnesota.
“No reputable business would be associated with a breeding farm whose long-documented breeding conditions have led to more than 100 federal searches,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphne Nachminovic. “This blatant disregard is the reason PETA is urging Reptile Express to immediately reconsider its relationship with this notorious cruel supplier and urging the public to never buy animals from pet stores or breeders.”
A PETA witness who worked for the supplier Reptile Express gathered evidence showing that about 1,000 chinchillas were kept in cramped, open wire cages and were not receiving veterinary care for abscesses and eye pus, among other serious conditions. Based on PETA evidence, the authorities complied with the search warrant and opened a criminal investigationand over 35,000 people across the country have joined the Reptile Express Group’s call to stop buying and selling chinchillas. Atlas Pet Supply, located near Minneapolis, has ditched MCR as a supplier and is revising its chinchilla sales after its CEO called conditions there “completely unacceptable.”
PETA, whose motto is in part that “animals are not in our hands” – opposes arrogance, a worldview based on human superiority. For more information please visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…
This is followed by PETA’s letter to Chilton.
March 1, 2021
Donald B. Chilton
Owner
Reptile Express, Inc.
Dear Mr. Chilton:
We respectfully request your immediate attention to the disturbing findings of our undercover investigation of your supplier, Moulton Chinchilla Ranch (MCR), a large breeding farm near Chatfield, Minnesota. An MCR situation is an emergency requiring immediate action from you.
I urge you to see our investigative personnel, which reveals that MCR chinchillas were denied veterinary care due to puffy, pus-filled eyes; heavily overgrown teeth; painfully matted coats; burst breast abscess; and other difficult conditions. One chinchilla had a disfigured foot, but was refused care by the owner of MCR due to this excruciating injury, which left a bloody stump with exposed bones. A PETA investigator rescued her and took her to a veterinary emergency, but her leg had to be amputated. Chinchillas MCR have also been infected Streptococcus zooepidemicus, a highly contagious human-transmitted pathogen that causes conjunctivitis and abscesses.
After receiving a warning of chronic hardship and suffering at MCR, the CEO of Atlas Pet Supply near Minneapolis called conditions there “completely unacceptable,” abandoned the mill as a supplier and is reviewing chinchilla sales. A veterinarian who runs a veterinary technician program at a college near MCR told us that she was “shocked” and “alarmed” by the footage and that the school would no longer take students there on field trips.
More than 35,000 compassionate people across the country have joined us in calling on you to help end this suffering and stop hunting for chinchillas. Could you immediately reconsider your relationship with MCR and let us know your plans for the sale of chinchillas in the future?
Thanks for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Sarah Deffinger
Evidence analyst
Abuse Investigation Department
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