Federal Health Officials Point to California-Based Frog Supplier as Source of Massive National Salmonella Outbreak
For Immediate Release:
June 29, 2011
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Bethesda, Md. — Now that the California-based breeder that supplied live frogs for Wild Creations' "EcoAquariums" has been named the source of a national salmonella outbreak, PETA is asking the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which recalls hazardous toys, to recall the 4-inch-by-4-inch plastic cubes, which confine two live frogs for life. In a letter sent today to Commission Chair Inez Moore Tenenbaum, PETA points out that the California Department of Public Health has issued an urgent notice recommending that vendors "immediately discontinue distribution and sale of these frogs." The EcoAquariums are marketed as "toys" to children through stores across the U.S. and Canada.
"PETA has pointed out that EcoAquariums are both cruel to animals and dangerous to children," says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission must act now to ban a toy that deprives frogs of a life and can make kids deathly ill."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified more than 220 people—most of whom are children—in 41 states who were exposed to a unique strain of salmonella that was traced to Wild Creations' live-frog supplier. Wild Creations' EcoAquariums—and similar products—have been condemned by biologists and wildlife specialists as inhumane and inadequate, confining energetic animals to small plastic boxes in which they are slowly poisoned by their own waste. A PETA investigation into Wild Creations' warehouse revealed filthy conditions, starvation, and rampant neglect and mishandling of frogs.
Many retailers—including Brookstone, Toys"R"Us, Target, JCPenney, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Albertsons—have discontinued sales of tiny tanks that contain frogs or fish.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.