We received a call recently from a whistleblower who alerted us to a situation at Coach House Gifts, a Clovis, California–based business where 37 out of 40 frogs in a shipment died after being left in a shipping box so long that they succumbed to heat prostration.

Wondering what a store that specializes in greeting cards and silly bracelets is doing with frog shipments? Well, Coach House Gifts also sells frogs who are crammed into 4-inch plastic cubes. These "desk decorations" are similar to Brookstone's "Frog-O-Spheres."

The similarities between the two novelty gifts don't stop there, either. Both Coach House Gifts and Brookstone buy their frogs from a hellhole called Wild Creations. Our undercover investigation into Wild Creations documented rampant neglect and mishandling of these delicate animals and a total disregard for their needs, welfare, and lives. Our investigator witnessed frogs being thrown around and even tossed into the garbage while they were still alive.

Please ask Coach House Gifts President Craig J. Walker to pull these cruel novelties off the shelves immediately. And then demand that Brookstone do the same!

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

Victory Update: Following a national PETA campaign against Brookstone's sale of Frog-O-Spheres —tiny plastic boxes containing two African dwarf frogs—the retailer has discontinued the sale of these little frog prisons in its stores. Learn more about this victory for frogs.

Last month, a PETA investigator worked undercover inside Wild Creations—the supplier of frogs for Brookstone's Frog-O-Spheres—and documented unsanitary living conditions, rampant starvation, and gross mishandling of thousands of frogs. Frogs were left to languish in stagnant water that was murky with feces and molted skin. They were so desperate for food (our investigator worked there for weeks before anyone was seen feeding the animals) that they were chewing on each other's legs, causing wounds, infections, and, eventually, loss of limbs. Live frogs were left on the floor to die or—mistaken for dead—tossed aside, including into the trash, by employees who had received no training.

We showed the disturbing footage to world-renowned experts in biology and herpetology, and their message was clear: Distribution of Frog-O-Spheres must stop forever. Clifford Warwick, a fellow at the Institute of Biology and one of the world's leading authorities on herpetology, said, "The advice given by the 'technical' staff [of Wild Creations] about this product is less than amateuristic. It is blatantly false, and dangerous and will lead to the suffering and death of many animals, and possibly also lead to human disease and death. … [S]ales staff and workers … are being guided by superiors whose 'knowledge' is more dubious (and frankly dangerous) than even common sense would dictate."

Tom Langton, who runs the frog conservation organization Froglife, reacted by saying, "The housing indicates gross negligence and effective intent to cause suffering and death of frogs and is in fact a breeding factory for pathogens. Such pathogens could spread beyond the immediate factory and into the external environment creating new criminal offences."

You might not be a biologist or even know what a herpetologist is, but what do you think about PETA's latest investigation?

Written by Logan Scherer