Protesters to Descend on VCA’s HQ Over Ties to Blood Bank Caught Warehousing, Bleeding Sick Dogs and Cats

For Immediate Release:
February 20, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Because veterinary clinics owned by locally based VCA Animal Hospitals reportedly obtain blood from The Veterinarians’ Blood Bank (TVBB)—where a PETA undercover investigation recently exposed that more than 900 dogs and cats are confined to barren cages and severely crowded pens for life, including animals who suffered from infections and cancer—a pack of PETA supporters will protest outside VCA’s headquarters on Thursday to demand that the company implement a policy against obtaining blood from captive animals.

Where:    VCA Animal Hospitals, 12401 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles

When:    Thursday, February 22, 12 noon

 “Nearly 1,000 dogs and cats are being held captive by this massive prison-like warehouse, which treats them as living blood bags and exploits them until they take their last breath,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA is calling on VCA Animal Hospitals to commit to obtaining blood only from healthy dogs and cats who live in homes as members of the family and are responsibly volunteered for periodic blood donations by their guardians.”

Recent inspections of TVBB by the Indiana State Board of Animal Health confirmed many of PETA’s findings, with state veterinarian Dr. Jodi Lovejoy noting that animals held there were being bled more frequently and at ages far older than industry standards dictate—including senior animals as old as 11. She found dogs kept in rusty, barren kennels without bedding or solid surfaces as well as ones with hair loss, skin tags, and apparent pressure sores, likely from being forced to lie on hard kennel floors without any bedding for years. Every dog whose teeth she examined had “moderate to severe” dental disease. As VCA Animal Hospitals explains on its own website, dental disease can cause bacteria to enter the bloodstream and travel to “other areas within the body, causing distant or systemic effects”—meaning that animals at risk for infections in their bloodstream were still being bled, further imperiling the animals who would use that blood.

PetVet Care Centers—a nationwide network of veterinary hospitals—dropped TVBB as a supplier following PETA’s investigation.

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 the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.