Hamsters Drowned, Baked Alive, Maimed at Local Breeding Operation; PETA Seeks Criminal Probe

For Immediate Release:
July 24, 2025

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

A damning, just-released federal report reveals that numerous hamsters suffered agonizing deaths while others were confined in filthy and severely crowded enclosures at a Bakersfield-area breeding facility operated by Pet Brokers, Inc. In response, PETA sent a letter today to Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer, urging her to have a veterinarian with expertise in small mammals and investigators visit the facility—which confines approximately 600 hamsters—and file applicable charges against those responsible for the neglect.

According to the latest report, on June 11, a federal veterinarian found 16 dead hamsters floating in an enclosure that had been flooded by a broken automatic waterer, along with three visibly distressed survivors. Four additional dead hamsters, each of whom had multiple bloody wounds, were found in other enclosures—which a Pet Brokers employee noted is “a common occurrence” caused by the company’s failure to separate incompatible animals. The inspection revealed another 71 live hamsters crammed into just two enclosures with only 6 square inches of floor space each, while others were found in waste-filled enclosures that hadn’t been cleaned in days.

During a previous inspection on February 28, an accumulation of old feces, food, and dirt was found in all the enclosures, which Pet Brokers’ owner said hadn’t been sanitized in 10 months. It was also reported that Pet Brokers’ veterinarian hadn’t set foot at the site since 2022, and that in August 2024, every hamster confined at the facility died when a swamp cooler broke on a day when temperatures at the property exceeded 105 degrees.

“Hamsters languished in deplorable conditions and endured agonizing, terrifying deaths at Pet Brokers Inc., which 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 Kern County authorities to prosecute those responsible for these hamsters’ suffering and urges everyone never to buy any animal from a breeder or a pet store, which keeps operations like this one in business.”

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 thatEvery 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 Zimmer follows.

July 24, 2025

The Honorable Cynthia Zimmer

Kern County District Attorney

Dear Ms. Zimmer:

I hope this letter finds you well. I’m writing to request that your office (and the proper law-enforcement agency, as you deem appropriate) investigate and, as suitable, file criminal charges against those responsible for severely—and fatally—neglecting hamsters at a breeding facility operated by Pet Brokers Inc., which is headquartered at 5880 District Blvd., Ste. 11, in Bakersfield. (A recent state document suggests that at least some of the animals used by the business are kept at 8524 Old River Rd., near Old River.) 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 600 hamsters there.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) veterinarian documented neglect at the company in the attached reports. On June 11, the veterinarian discovered 16 dead hamsters floating in a flooded enclosure. Three survivors were “distressed.” The same day, the veterinarian found four more dead hamsters, each of whom had “multiple wounds with visible dried blood … consistent with trauma.” A Pet Brokers employee admitted that finding wounded remains is “a common occurrence” caused by the company’s failure to separate incompatible animals. Another 71 live hamsters were found in two enclosures, where each had just 6 square inches of floor space.

Again, on June 11, the federal veterinarian found an “accumulation of old feces” in four hamster enclosures, which Pet Brokers’ owner “reported he had not been able to adequately clean … for … days.” This mirrors the February 28 discovery of waste in all hamster enclosures, which the owner evidently admitted he had not sanitized in 10 months. During the February inspection, the USDA veterinarian also discovered 31 hamsters severely crowded in two bins and that Pet Brokers’ veterinarian hadn’t been to the site since 2022. Finally, Pet Brokers’ owner reportedly admitted that in August 2024, all the company’s hamsters died after a cooling mechanism malfunctioned.

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 animal neglect. These findings appear to violate California’s prohibitions against cruelty to animals. California 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