Video Footage of Former U.S. Global Exotics Vet—Still Under Federal Investigation—Shows Him Slamming Squirrels' Heads Against Cinder Block
For Immediate Release:
April 5, 2012
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Dallas -- Dr. Gene F. Giggleman, a former dean and now a professor at Dallas-based Parker University who was employed at now-defunct U.S. Global Exotics, Inc. (USGE), has been formally reprimanded based on allegations of dishonorable conduct and fined $2,500 by the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (TBVME). TBVME's disciplinary action was based on evidence gathered during PETA's investigation of the Arlington-based international animal dealer, which a Texas court found to have cruelly treated approximately 27,000 exotic animals seized by authorities.
In a consent order entered into with TBVME on March 27, TBVME states that Giggleman admitted to fraudulently signing legally required shipping certificates attesting to the health of animals he had never examined. In never-before-released video footage from PETA's investigation, Giggleman can be seen slamming squirrels' heads against a cinder block and advising USGE workers to cut live snakes' heads off and/or freeze them alive.
"Giggleman's punishment doesn't come close to what animals at USGE suffered every single day, but this stain on his record will rightly follow him throughout his career," says PETA Director Martin Mersereau. "PETA looks forward to seeing him held accountable by federal authorities."
PETA's investigator recorded Giggleman as he attempted to kill one squirrel by breaking her neck and killed another squirrel by injecting the conscious animal directly in the heart—a painful and illegal killing method. Giggleman remains under investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and could be charged with felony violations of the Lacey Act, a wildlife-protection law.
Giggleman's previous employer, former USGE owner Jasen Shaw, is an international fugitive wanted by the federal government for smuggling, conspiracy, and aiding and abetting. Shaw has fled to his native New Zealand and is the subject of an Interpol red notice.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.