For Immediate Release:
August 14, 2023
Contact:
Brittney Williams 202-483-7382
Armed with a damning U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report revealing that 4 puppies passed away without veterinary care at a puppy mill in Perry Township run by Enos Shetler, PETA hurried a letter to Morrow County Prosecutor Thomas Smith asking him to examine the center—which just recently restricted about 80 dogs—and submit appropriate charges versus those accountable for the overlook.
According to a recent report, on May 1 a USDA vet found that the puppies had actually passed away which, prior to their deaths, Shetler understood that the dogs were “failing to gain weight” however didn’t speak with a vet. After 3 of the dogs passed away, Shetler still didn’t get in touch with a vet, and a 4th passed away days later on.
“Puppies in pet stores come from miserable mills like this one, where dogs were left to languish and die,” says PETA Vice President of Evidence Analysis Daniel Paden. “PETA urges Morrow County authorities to prosecute those responsible for this deadly neglect and calls on everyone to avoid buying from breeders or pet stores, which keep operations like this one in business, and to adopt from shelters instead.”
PETA is pursuing charges under state law due to the fact that the USDA doesn’t render relief or help to animals throughout its evaluations and these offenses bring no federal criminal or civil charges.
PETA—whose slogan checks out, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more info, please check out PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
PETA’s letter to Smith follows.
August 14, 2023
The Honorable Thomas Smith
Morrow County Prosecutor
Dear Mr. Smith:
I hope this letter discovers you well. I’m composing to demand that your workplace (and the appropriate law-enforcement firm, as you consider suitable) examine and, as ideal, file criminal charges versus those accountable for fatally disregarding dogs at a breeding center run by Enos Shetler at 5562 Township Rd. 1 in Perry Township. PETA hopes private investigators will visit this center with a vet who has proficiency in canine health and well-being so they can determine any animals in requirement of care and opine on the conditions of and for the around 80 animals there.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) vet recorded overlook at the center in the connected report. On May 1, the vet found that 4 Yorkshire terrier puppies had “died in close proximity to one another” without getting veterinary care. Shetler obviously specified that he “had observed [these] puppies … were failing to gain weight,” however he didn’t get in touch with a vet. On March 22, 3 of the puppies passed away. Again, Shetler didn’t get in touch with a vet. On March 25, a 4th puppy passed away. As the USDA vet composed, stopping working “to communicate problems of animal health to [a] veterinarian can lead to mis-diagnosis and delays in providing proper care to animals resulting in worsening of their condition and … additional deaths.”
This overlook appears to break R.C. 959.131 and/or R.C. 959.13. The USDA renders no help or relief whatsoever to animals on website, and this report brings no criminal or civil charges and doesn’t preempt criminal liability under state law for disregarding animals. If you’d like to learn more about the firm’s findings, please see the contact info for its workplace in Riverdale, Maryland, here.
Thank you for your time and factor to consider and for the hard work that you do every day.
Sincerely,
Daniel Paden
Vice President of Evidence Analysis
PETA
