More than 1,100 chinchillas surrendered by Ohio pet breeder after federal investigation
An Ohio pet breeder is surrendering over 1,100 chinchillas after a federal investigation into "deeply troubling" conditions at the facility.
The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday a consent decree with the owner of R & R Chinchilla Inc. to surrender over 300 animals left at its breeding facility. The court order comes after the breeder already voluntarily surrendered more than 800 chinchillas to animal welfare organizations.
After learning from the Department of Agriculture that the animals were in "serious danger," the Department of Justice filed a complaint against R & R Chinchilla and its president, James Ritterspach, alleging failures to comply with the Animal Welfare Act on multiple occasions.
According to the complaint, Ritterspach lied to USDA inspectors, saying his facility had about 300 to 450 animals when, in reality, Ritterspach for years concealed about 800 additional animals in a separate building to avoid inspection.
Inspectors gained access to the undisclosed building in August and found hundreds of chinchillas in "dire conditions," with multiple animals already dead, the Department of Justice said.
Inspectors said the building was in the worst condition of any facility they had ever inspected, with ammonia levels so high they had to leave the building, the DOJ said. Fecal matter covered the entire floor of hundreds of enclosures, inspectors reported, and animals were found with their eyes so swollen and oozing with discharge that they couldn't open them.
A temporary restraining order in August removed 800 animals at the facility, authorities said, and now the remaining 300 will be surrendered. Ritterspach has also agreed to permanently stop any Animal Welfare Act-regulated activity, and his license has been permanently revoked.
