Shareholder Question Addresses Undercover Video, Criminal Investigations, and Distributor's Arrest Warrant
For Immediate Release:
June 14, 2011
Contact:
Robbyn Brooks 202-483-7382
Chicago — PETA, which owns stock in PetSmart, will present a question at PetSmart's annual meeting in Chicago on Wednesday asking the company when it will require its suppliers to enact a policy against buying animals from suppliers and distributors that have violated the law. A PETA investigation of U.S. Global Exotics—which sold animals to Rainbow World Exotics and Sun Pet, two of PetSmart's suppliers—resulted in the largest animal seizure in history. Authorities took custody of nearly 27,000 animals who were emaciated, suffering from untreated wounds and life-threatening illnesses, and cannibalizing each other. The company's owner is currently a federal fugitive. PETA's representative will call on PetSmart to require its suppliers to certify that they have not violated animal welfare laws:
When: Wednesday, June 15, 12:30 p.m.
Where: The Ritz-Carlton, 160 E. Pearson St. (near N. Michigan Avenue), Chicago
"By refusing to distance themselves from distributors that have violated basic animal protection laws, PetSmart is sending a message to its customers that it doesn't care about animals," says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "If shareholders want to safeguard their investments, they must demand that PetSmart enact a policy against purchasing animals from suppliers that violate state and federal laws."
During PETA's investigation of Georgia-based Sun Pet, the group's investigator documented widespread suffering of birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, mice, and rats. One worker was caught on video bashing live hamsters against a table in order to kill them. PETA's investigator never saw anyone from PetSmart's corporate offices inspect the facility. An inspection of Sun Pet by Georgia officials revealed rodents running loose, dead animals in enclosures with live ones, and rusty cages with sharp, dangerous edges. As a result, Sun Pet was put on probation for two years. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture subsequently found jagged, rusty cages that Sun Pet had supposedly replaced as well as evidence that the supplier had repeatedly and illegally purchased animals from unlicensed vendors.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.