PETA Releases Never-Before-Seen Footage From Sun Pet Investigation

Group Calls On DA to File Criminal Charges Against Animal-Warehouse Worker Who Bashed Hamsters to Death 

For Immediate Release:
May 26, 2010

Contact:
Daphna Nachminovitch 757-622-7382

Atlanta -- At a news conference tomorrow, PETA will screen never-before-seen footage from its three-month investigation of Sun Pet Ltd.--an Atlanta-based supplier of small mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and other animals to stores nationwide, including PETCO and PetSmart.

When:   Thursday, May 27, 12 noon

Where:  Courtyard by Marriott Atlanta Midtown/Georgia Tech, Meeting Room B, 1132 Techwood Dr., Atlanta

The footage from PETA's investigation of Sun Pet shows a worker slamming a plastic bag containing several hamsters against a table in an attempt to kill the animals inside. At least one of the hamsters was still alive for several minutes afterward and was seen panting in the plastic bag. Despite the fact that Georgia's anti-cruelty provision makes such conduct a crime and that a Sun Pet supervisor acknowledged that killing animals in this way was probably against regulations, Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr. has yet to file any criminal charges against the worker or anyone else based on the evidence that PETA gathered. PETA is calling on the DA to pursue appropriate charges against the worker and has posted an action alert on its popular Web site PETA.org, urging its visitors to do the same.

"If bagging and bashing small animals against a table in order to kill them--and then leaving survivors to suffocate and die slowly of trauma and injuries--isn't cruelty, what is?" says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "Had anyone in Paul Howard's jurisdiction done the same to puppies or kittens, they would have been held accountable. We hope that the DA is not being swayed by the pet industry to ignore the abuse at Sun Pet."

For more information and to view the video footage, please visit PETA.org.