Animals Fatally Neglected, Confined in Filth at Local Breeding Operation; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe

For Immediate Release:
December 4, 2025

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

A damning, just-released federal report reveals that at least one squirrel died after being neglected for months on end while other animals were confined in filth at a Monclova Township breeding facility operated by Just Wright Exotics. In response, PETA sent a letter today to The Honorable Alan Lehenbauer, Law Director of the City of Maumee, urging him to have investigators visit the facility with a veterinarian who has expertise in “exotic” mammal health and file applicable charges against those responsible for the neglect.

According to the report, on September 10, a federal veterinarian cited the operation for failing to perform daily checks on five squirrels confined at the facility. Just Wright Exotics personnel reportedly admitted that on May 2, one of the squirrels had been found dead, while the other four could not be located—and that they had last checked on the animals two months earlier in “late February or early March.” The inspection also revealed two capuchin monkeys confined with “saturated bedding” and “an excessive amount of food waste and debris,” and a raccoon held in an enclosure caked with a “thick” accumulation of feces. Just Wright Exotics has racked up 17 citations for alleged violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act in less than four years—including for selling animals without the required federal license and confining dogs in dangerous, dilapidated, and sharp-edged enclosures.

“Animals were left to languish for months until they turned up dead or went missing at this miserable breeding facility, which apparently treats them as nothing but commodities to be churned out as cheaply as possible,” says PETA Vice President of Legal Advocacy Daniel Paden. “PETA is calling on local authorities to prosecute those responsible for these animals’ deaths and suffering and urges everyone never to buy any animal from a breeder or a pet store.”

PETA is pursuing charges under state law because the federal government doesn’t render relief or aid to animals during its inspections and these violations carry no criminal or civil penalties.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Lehenbauer follows.

December 4, 2025

The Honorable Alan Lehenbauer

Law Director

City of Maumee

Dear Mr. Lehenbauer:

I hope this letter finds you well. I’m writing to request that your office file criminal charges, as appropriate, against those responsible for severely—and fatally—neglecting animals at a breeding facility operated by Just Wright Exotics LLC, which is headquartered at 9620 Maumee Western Rd. in Monclova Township. PETA hopes investigators will visit the business with a veterinarian who has expertise in “exotic” mammal health to identify any animals in need of care and opine on the conditions of and for the approximately 70 mammals there.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) veterinarian and inspector documented neglect at the company in the attached reports, the latest of which was just published by the agency. On September 10, USDA staff determined that on May 2, Just Wright Exotics personnel found that one of the five squirrels in their possession had died. The suspect(s) reportedly admitted to USDA personnel in September that they had last checked on this animal in “late February or early March”—two months earlier. (The other four squirrels could not be found on May 2.)

Also on September 10, USDA staff found two capuchin monkeys confined on “saturated bedding” amid “an excessive amount of food waste and debris.” A racoon was caged near a “thick” accumulation of his or her own waste.

If you’d like to learn more about the USDA’s findings, please see the contact information for its office here. The USDA renders no aid or relief whatsoever to animals on site; these reports carry no criminal or civil penalties and don’t preempt criminal liability under state law for acts of cruelty to animals.

These findings appear to violate Ohio Revised Code § 959.13. Ohio law provides these victims with their only hope for a small measure of justice. We urge your office to seek it.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Daniel Paden

Vice President of Legal Advocacy

cc:        Sheriff Michael J. Navarre, Lucas County Sheriff’s Office