Chinchilla Ranch With Hundreds Of Horrific Violations Shut Down Following Activist Investigations, USDA Hearing
Animals in Labs Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM LadyFreeThinker.org
October 2021

Judge: "You are unfit to be a licensee,” Clifton said during the teleconference hearing. “I do not know why you have been unable to understand the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act. I believe it is more from disinterest than anything else.”

Chinchilla's left eyelid crusted and swollen with discharge...

A chinchilla breeder with hundreds of violations under the Animal Welfare Act had his license permanently revoked and was issued an $18,000 penalty leveraged by a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) judge who declared him “unfit.”

The Oct. 8 administrative hearing involving Dan Moulton, owner of Minnesota-based Moulton Chinchilla Ranch (MCR), followed an undercover investigationby People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), dogged documentation of violations spanning almost a decade via Freedom of Information requests filed by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), and a 2018 complaint filed by the USDA — the most severe enforcement step the federal agency can take, which can lead to a hearing and a revoked license.

During the 18-day hearing, USDA Administrative Law Judge Jill Clifton called the violations “absolutely astounding.”

“You are unfit to be a licensee,” Clifton said during the teleconference hearing. “I do not know why you have been unable to understand the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act. I believe it is more from disinterest than anything else.”

While some researchers have said they likely will shift to using guinea pigs in their research, other scientists have said that it’s time to rely on more accurate and more humane models — including models of the human ear using human cells and tissues.

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Please read the ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE (PDF)

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