Fed inspectors find sick, dead animals at pet dealer ranch
Source: Associated Press
Fed inspectors find sick, dead animals at pet dealer ranch
Michael Rubinkam, Associated Press
Updated 1:06 am, Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Federal inspectors found sick and dead animals, inadequate sanitation, untrained employees performing euthanasia and other deficiencies at a Pennsylvania small-animal dealer that supplied major pet retailers like Petco and PetSmart.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report on its January inspection of Holmes Chinchilla Ranch that said inspectors found dozens of animals in need of veterinary treatment for symptoms ranging from hair loss to eye abnormalities to lethargy.
USDA spent several days at Holmes after an animal-rights group shot video purporting to show substandard conditions at the dealer's facility in Barto, about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia, where it keeps thousands of hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits and other species.
The video, which People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals shared with The Associated Press, included scenes of bins with dead guinea pigs; dishes filled with what appeared to be fouled water; loose cats that PETA said preyed on hamsters, mice and rats; live rats stuffed in a plastic bag and placed in a freezer; and a "waste-filled cooler" where dozens of small animals of varying species were dumped and gassed, "sometimes ineffectively," PETA said.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Fed-inspectors-find-sick-dead-animals-at-pet-7939881.php
Shame. Someone should go to prison for this.
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... this is the United States of America, but as each day passes, I find it harder and harder to believe. Seems like we're "Exceptional" for all the wrong reasons. 
