PETA Tip Leads to Rescue of 1,100+ Chinchillas From Filthy Breeding Factory

For years, hundreds of chinchillas were hidden from federal inspectors inside a remote Ohio breeding factory, confined in dark, humid sheds reeking of mildew and ammonia, where rows of filthy wire cages were caked with feces, open packets of rat poison lay near occupied cages, and a dead chinchilla remained among living animals—until a PETA tip to federal authorities brought their existence to light. That tip set a massive rescue operation in motion: Federal authorities called on PETA to remove the chinchillas most in need of care from R & R Chinchilla Inc., prompting PETA rescue teams to pack two vans with more than 100 new carriers and make repeated 24-hour round-trip drives to rural Ohio, ultimately rescuing 158 animals. The U.S. Department of Justice announced that owner and operator James Ritterspach entered into a consent decree requiring him to relinquish all the remaining chinchillas—bringing the total number of chinchillas rescued in this case to more than 1,100.