Upstream | May 29, 2010 | 22 comments

Undercover Investigation Reveals Cruelty (Including Bashing Live Hamsters), Neglect, and Filth at Another Pet Trade Supplier - Video Too Graphic to Watch

source: http://https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3126

EthicalVegan
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=312...

Do NOT watch this video! The description enough should be enough to get you angry enough to help do something about this...

Undercover Investigation Reveals Neglect, Cruelty, and Filth at Another Pet Trade Supplier

Another PETCO and PetSmart Supplier Caught on Video Mistreating Animals


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A PETA investigator went undercover at Sun Pet Ltd., an Atlanta-based wholesale animal dealer that supplies animals to numerous PETCO and PetSmart locations, among other retailers across the U.S. Video footage and photos taken by PETA's investigator show the widespread suffering of hundreds of birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, mice, and rats in Sun Pet's enormous warehouses. On April 22, 2010, Georgia Department of Agriculture representatives descended on Sun Pet, which was, unfortunately, tipped off well in advance and apparently took the opportunity to clean up its act. PETA has requested an investigation into the leak that prepped Sun Pet for the Department of Agriculture's visit, but so far, no one has been held accountable for it.

In addition to the misery of confinement to extremely crowded containers, forcing animals to eat, sleep, urinate, and defecate all in the same space, PETA's investigator recorded the violent killing and abusive handling of hundreds of animals.

One worker put live hamsters into a bag and then bashed the bag against a table in an attempt to kill them—one of the animals was seen suffering and panting heavily minutes later. Other animals whom Sun Pet could not sell were gassed in a crude, filth-encrusted tank. Animals who got loose in the company's warehouse suffered horribly after ingesting the poison that Sun Pet sets out to kill them.

A supervisor trained PETA's investigator to determine animals' genders by forcefully squeezing their abdomens "like a … PlayStation controller handle" to make their genitals "come out." "You could throw them against the wall and they'll stand back up again and keep on running," Sun Pet's supervisor said to PETA's investigator when ordering him to pack and handle animals more quickly. In more than three months of employment, not once did PETA's investigator see anyone from PETCO's or PetSmart's corporate offices inspecting Sun Pet's facility.

Sun Pet also purchased animals from U.S. Global Exotics, the filthy Texas warehouse from which more than 26,000 animals were seized last December following another PETA undercover investigation. Sun Pet also purchased thousands of animals from unlicensed vendors, in apparent violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act, despite previous warnings by the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding such practices.

PETA's investigator documented that PETCO and PetSmart stores returned animals suffering from illnesses and injuries, sometimes without food or water, to Sun Pet instead of providing them with veterinary care or basic necessities or even putting them out of their misery. The animals were hauled around in cardboard boxes in the backs of trucks traveling hundreds of miles and many hours from store to store until they finally got back to Sun Pet, and many died as a result. View photos taken by PETA's undercover investigator.

You can help secure justice for the hamsters and thousands of sensitive individual animals peddled for profit by Sun Pet. PETA has received information indicating that Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. has instructed his office to halt its investigation of animal suffering at Sun Pet. Please complete the form below to urge Mr. Howard to investigate and file suitable cruelty-to-animals charges against the worker caught bashing hamsters against a table and also to file charges against other appropriate parties. Ask Mr. Howard what he thinks constitutes cruelty to animals if it's not bagging them up and bashing them against a table and then leaving them to suffer and slowly die of their injuries.




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22 comments // Undercover Investigation Reveals Cruelty (Including Bashing Live Hamsters), Neglect, and Filth at Another Pet Trade Supplier - Video Too Graphic to Watch

  • donkeyfly69
  • EthicalVegan
    • 0
      EthicalVegan  
    • donkeyfly69:

      Yes, it sure is.

      Pet Sun is a supplier to both Petco and PetSmart, so making phone calls to your local stores can help some, believe me. And emailing the corporate offices of both chain stores makes a significant pinch.

    • 1 year ago
  • MotherForTruth
  • choice
  • Deadpool_
  • danteglam
    • +2
      danteglam  
    • Deadpool_:

      Well getting eaten by an owl would definitely be better than living in captivity then getting beaten to death, since then you would experience true freedom...

      The whole PETA thing is true.. They need to go for things that they can fight for and win not just lose and get made fun of..

      I definitely agree with your idea.. He made the animal suffer as it it did not matter so lets be heartless back and let him suffer worse.. As long as the bear is safe.

    • 2 years ago
  • LampShadeHat
    • +1
      LampShadeHat  
    • Deadpool_:

      People who release domestic animals into the wild are either giving these animals a death sentence or seriously screwing up the natural ecosystem of the area. I agree that some change is necessary, but if a domestic animal outcompetes the native animals in the area it can drive the native fauna to extinction.

      Dogs released in australia lead to the extinction of the awesome thylacine
      Red foxes released in california are causing local san joaquin kit foxes to decline
      ice plant that is cultivated in peoples yards (from south africa) is pretty but with no natural predators it is destroying the natural balance of the dunes in the central coast of california
      There are hundreds more examples, these just were the first to come to mind.

      Releasing a non-native animal to an area is NEVER a good idea. You may help one individual, but you could be screwing the habitat for generations to follow.

    • 1 year ago
  • Stoneyroad
    • +2
      Stoneyroad  

    • it should not take undercover investigators to expose this. - how can a new employee see this & not report it / call the newspaper or throw a plastic bag over thier head?

    • 2 years ago
  • freecrack
  • Kurta
    • +2
      Kurta  

    • To update, I read that this worker was fired from Sun Pet. PETA is pushing for charges, and I agree.

      The pet trade needs to stop. There's no need for it with all of the animals currently sitting in shelters.

      As much as these types of things disgust me, a sharp blow to the head is a relatively "humane" way of killing an animal. But it needs to be ONE SHOT and that's it. Make it count! I had to do it once myself when one of my hamsters was critically injured. It was the fastest way to end his pain. I still have nightmares though because I'm just not that guy. These workers all too often have a sick amusement with animal suffering. That's truly disturbing.

      The most humane way of euthanizing rodents is with baking soda and vinegar. The Co2 that is created displaces the air and puts them to sleep. It's much more peaceful than the shot in the heart that they administer at the vet.

      After my 8+ year old chinchilla dies (some day), I'm done with pets. It's just not right to imprison any animal, even though he's a spoiled brat. I have plenty of wild birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and raccoons that I can enjoy. I urge others to do the same.

    • 2 years ago
  • freecrack
  • EthicalVegan
  • freecrack
    • +2
      freecrack  

    • it is common practice in pet stores to hold rodents by the tail and smash theyre heads against solid surfaces to stun the animal so it can be fed to reptiles who are bred in captivity and lack the instict to properly hunt.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • freecrack
  • EthicalVegan
    • +2
      EthicalVegan  
    • freecrack:

      You do know that I'm anti-breeding, right? And I'm anti-"pets", as well. The animals who live with me are all rescues or fosters. I think we're on the same page - it just sounded off, initially.

    • 2 years ago
  • freecrack
    • +1
      freecrack  
    • EthicalVegan:

      im sorry, my bad, it must have seemed pointed as it was a reply to you, but i was just putting forth what i think is an extremely important element most often overlooked.

      dont fuck with nature. if you didnt create it its not yours to do with as ya please
      we are on the same page, im just still trying to find a way to get off milk and cheese

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +1
      EthicalVegan  
    • freecrack:

      No need to apologize, but thank you, just the same! Nice.

      I found getting off milk and cheese were both easy.

      Well, I'm a cheat. You see, I NEVER liked milk... never. But I remembered enjoying Cheerios, as long as the cow's milk was icy cold, and there wasn't a lot of it. So I finally bought a container of Trader Joe's brand of plain soy milk (none of the flavored ones), and nervously tried it. YUM! So that was the beginning of my using soy milk, which I then -- and still do -- toss in with my morning vegan protein shakes (various mixtures of berries, plus a banana, plus a vegan protein powder).

      As for the cheese, I was really "afraid" to go that route. But I did, thanks to my doctor's advice and suggestions. So first off, I made a vegan cheeseburger. Can't remember the brand of vegan burger, but I simply stuck one thin slice of vegan cheese on top of that, and added all the other stuff to make it a really great sandwich. No, even then -- with all the "coverings" -- I realized the vegan cheese did not taste like dairy cheese. Surprise, surprise... it took my young son to explain to me, simply enough, that... DUH... it was NOT cheese, so how could it TASTE just like cheese?! Blush. So slowly I adapted.

      And during that slow period of adjustment, the various vegan cheese manufacturers were developing more flavors, which helped. And now there's Daiya (pronounced DAY-yuh, and an awful name, I know), but it's not even made with soy, and I swear to the universe that, if you cut a slice of pizza made with it, as you lift the slice, the Daiya strings down just the way "real" cheese does!

      Anyway, I make all sorts of dishes using vegan cheeses, including and especially Mexican foods. Cheap and easy to make vegan burritos with black beans, vegan cheese, red onions, and whatever else I decide to toss into the mix that particular time 'round.

      But again, yes, switching over to vegan cheese doesn't sound appealing, I know... and I understand. So just put the vegan cheese INSIDE other food combinations.

      And, on THAT note, I'd best make myself a WAY-too-late dinner, because this made me hungry.

    • 2 years ago
  • danteglam
    • +1
      danteglam  
    • EthicalVegan:

      Wow.. You just made me want to go vegan.. I hate all this unnecessary suffering animals go through for our pleasure of eating them..
      Loving the fact that you guys switched from breeding animals to a conversation about vegan food so easily..

    • 2 years ago
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  
    • EthicalVegan:

      wow you are stoked to be vegan.
      went to costco today and got into a fight with the wife over cheese.
      as you see me post often enough im sure you recognize any woman willing to marry me has to be tolerant to my madness, so we never really fight.

      but there we were in costco, like all the people we mock, fighting over ethics in public

    • 1 year ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • freecrack
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