For Immediate Release:
April 4, 2022
Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382
Lavaca County, Texas â Just-released U.S. Department of Agriculture reports, available here, reveal that sugar gliders were left to die and rot in cages while others suffered from painful ailmentsâeven the loss of an eyeâand were shaking, thin, soaking wet, ill, and confined to cages filled with their own waste and infested with cockroaches and worms at a local pet-trade breeding mill. So this morning, PETA fired off a letter to Lavaca County Attorney Kyle A. Denney asking him to investigate and file applicable criminal charges against those responsible for causing âunjustified or unwarranted pain or sufferingâ to animals as prohibited by state law. The millâs owners, Franklin and Wilma Stary, apparently employ only two people to tend to up to 5,000 sugar gliders kept caged on-site.
âIf someone caused thousands of dogs to languish in filthy, infested cages, charges would be filed right away, and under the law, all animals, including sugar gliders, deserve the same protection,â says PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. âTheir suffering is exactly why PETA urges the public to adopt, not buy from breeders or pet storesâand why weâre calling for a criminal investigation into the egregious neglect of these sensitive animals.â
PETAâwhose motto reads, in part, that âanimals are not ours to abuse in any wayââopposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETAâs letter to Denney follows.
April 4, 2022
The Honorable Kyle A. Denney
Lavaca County Attorneyâs Office
Dear Mr. Denney:
I hope this letter finds you well. Iâm writing to request that your office (and the proper law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and file criminal charges as suitable against those responsible for the persistent, widespread and apparently fatal neglect of animals at a sugar glider breeding mill operated by Franklin and Wilma Stary. PETA urges investigators to visit the facility with a veterinarian who has expertise in sugar glider health and welfare so that they can identify any animals in need of care and opine on the conditions of and for the animals there.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) staff documented neglect at the facility in the attached reports. On February 9, a federal inspector found the remains of approximately 10 animals âin varying stages of advanced decompositionâ at the site. The agent observed that there were accumulated feces in âmost cagesââwhich confined 4,925 animalsâand that rodents were feeding on the waste. âThe overall smell of waste throughout the enclosed facility ⊠was very pungent and overwhelming,â according to the report. Worms and mice âtoo numerous to countâ and an incalculable number of roaches were in and under cages.
On February 14, the inspector and a federal veterinarian found five animals with severe lesions on their eyesâand even missing eyesâwho had been deprived of veterinary care. Again, the agents noted an âextremely pungent and overwhelmingâ odor of waste, which was on the floors of most cages. On February 24, 10 more animals were found denied care for injured and/or diseased eyes, being âvisibly shakingâ and wet, being so âthinâ that their hips protruded under the skin and fur, and other conditions. Yet again, insects, worms, and mice âtoo numerous to countâ were seen in cages housing sugar gliders. A dead mouse seen on February 9 remained untouched and was âskeletonized.â
This neglect appears to violate Texasâ prohibition against cruelty to nonlivestock animals, Texas Penal Code § 42.092. The USDAâs actionâwhich is clearly insufficientârenders no aid or relief whatsoever to animals on site, carries no criminal or civil penalties, and doesnât preempt criminal liability under state law for acts of cruelty to animals. If youâd like to learn more about the USDAâs findings, please see the contact information for the office in Riverdale, Maryland, here. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please let us know if we can assist you.
Sincerely,
Daniel Paden
Vice President of Evidence Analysis
Source: Peta.org