1000 exotic animals die - heartbreaking...
By SUSAN SCHROCK
sschrock@star-telegram.com
ARLINGTON — Another 1,000 animals seized from a north Arlington exotic pet dealer last week have died, in addition to 600 found dead at the facility, according to testimony Monday in Arlington Municipal Court. In the second day of an administrative hearing to determine custody of the animals, experts testified that the more than 26,000 animals housed there lacked food and water, medical care and appropriate environments.
And the company’s handful of employees would not have been able to care for that number of animals, two veterinarians said. Such conditions amount to cruelty, they said. "It is my understanding there were three people taking care of over 26,000 animals. This is completely impossible. There isn’t time in a 24-hour day to do that," said Dr. Janet Martin, one of the vets brought in by the city to care for the seized animals.
Martin, who oversees care for the mammals taken from U.S. Global Exotics, said five wallabies at the facility were loose in a room where bedding material had been thrown on a tile floor. The room was filled with feces and flies, Martin said. The only food in the room was moldy carrots. Martin also said that all of the animals tested so far had parasite infestations.
Temporary housing
But an attorney representing the pet dealer stressed that the facility was a temporary holding site and that the containers in which the animals were housed were appropriate for the short term. Lance Evans, an attorney representing the company’s owners, Jasen and Vanessa Shaw, said that the animals were captured in the wild and could have arrived with the infestations. The Shaws did not attend Monday’s hearing.
Evans also said that the company is a wholesaler and that the animals were kept in temporary housing that was never intended to imitate their natural settings. He also questioned whether the stress of transporting the animals from the business to their current location may have contributed to the deaths of the additional 1,000 animals, especially the temperature-sensitive reptiles and amphibians that were moved on a cold day. "Two hundred a day since you guys seized them with 24 people caring for them 12 hours a day?" Evans asked. "You’ve got more dead in five days than the total you had when you went in there."
Chronic neglect
Dr. Timothy Tristan, a veterinarian brought in by the city to assess the health of other animals, said it was his opinion that the animals that died after being removed from the company had succumbed to the effects of chronic neglect, not the move. At least 80 of them were euthanized. Tristan said many of the animals at the business were already being kept at inappropriate temperatures, including some iguanas and snakes kept in areas at least 40 degrees below what they require to function. His testimony was illustrated with photos of large spiders in tiny plastic containers with no food or water. Tristan said that some of the spiders couldn’t stretch their legs in the tight quarters and that some venomous spiders had pushed the tops off of containers and were loose in the building. He also showed photos of plastic soda bottles filled with up to 50 tree frogs that also lacked food or water. Testimony will continue today on whether the animals are to be returned to the Shaws or remain in city custody.
The animals were seized Dec. 15 after an undercover worker for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals tipped authorities to conditions.
** Thank goodness someone reported this people. Everyone has different stances on PETA - some think they are too crazy aggressive, but thank goodness they saved these animals here...
sschrock@star-telegram.com
ARLINGTON — Another 1,000 animals seized from a north Arlington exotic pet dealer last week have died, in addition to 600 found dead at the facility, according to testimony Monday in Arlington Municipal Court. In the second day of an administrative hearing to determine custody of the animals, experts testified that the more than 26,000 animals housed there lacked food and water, medical care and appropriate environments.
And the company’s handful of employees would not have been able to care for that number of animals, two veterinarians said. Such conditions amount to cruelty, they said. "It is my understanding there were three people taking care of over 26,000 animals. This is completely impossible. There isn’t time in a 24-hour day to do that," said Dr. Janet Martin, one of the vets brought in by the city to care for the seized animals.
Martin, who oversees care for the mammals taken from U.S. Global Exotics, said five wallabies at the facility were loose in a room where bedding material had been thrown on a tile floor. The room was filled with feces and flies, Martin said. The only food in the room was moldy carrots. Martin also said that all of the animals tested so far had parasite infestations.
Temporary housing
But an attorney representing the pet dealer stressed that the facility was a temporary holding site and that the containers in which the animals were housed were appropriate for the short term. Lance Evans, an attorney representing the company’s owners, Jasen and Vanessa Shaw, said that the animals were captured in the wild and could have arrived with the infestations. The Shaws did not attend Monday’s hearing.
Evans also said that the company is a wholesaler and that the animals were kept in temporary housing that was never intended to imitate their natural settings. He also questioned whether the stress of transporting the animals from the business to their current location may have contributed to the deaths of the additional 1,000 animals, especially the temperature-sensitive reptiles and amphibians that were moved on a cold day. "Two hundred a day since you guys seized them with 24 people caring for them 12 hours a day?" Evans asked. "You’ve got more dead in five days than the total you had when you went in there."
Chronic neglect
Dr. Timothy Tristan, a veterinarian brought in by the city to assess the health of other animals, said it was his opinion that the animals that died after being removed from the company had succumbed to the effects of chronic neglect, not the move. At least 80 of them were euthanized. Tristan said many of the animals at the business were already being kept at inappropriate temperatures, including some iguanas and snakes kept in areas at least 40 degrees below what they require to function. His testimony was illustrated with photos of large spiders in tiny plastic containers with no food or water. Tristan said that some of the spiders couldn’t stretch their legs in the tight quarters and that some venomous spiders had pushed the tops off of containers and were loose in the building. He also showed photos of plastic soda bottles filled with up to 50 tree frogs that also lacked food or water. Testimony will continue today on whether the animals are to be returned to the Shaws or remain in city custody.
The animals were seized Dec. 15 after an undercover worker for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals tipped authorities to conditions.
** Thank goodness someone reported this people. Everyone has different stances on PETA - some think they are too crazy aggressive, but thank goodness they saved these animals here...
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