Guinea pig mill - 200 guinea pigs, 3 dead - also rabbits, gerbils, pigeons
Aurora, MO (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Dec 10, 2002
County: Lawrence
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Dennis R. Franzen
The Missouri Department of Agriculture, law officers and Humane Society workers say they saved more than 200 guinea pigs and about two dozen rabbits from an unlicensed breeder's facility. They also seized gerbils and pigeons. State officials say the breeder sold the animals and birds, known collectively as pocket pets, to pet stores in Missouri, including the Springfield area.
The Agriculture Department says it worked with the breeder, Dennis Franzen, for a number of months and cited and fined him for violations of state rules that govern animal breeders. Recently, Franzen allowed his breeder's license to lapse.
Aurora police, Agriculture Department agents and state Humane Society employees spent Tuesday morning loading up the guinea pigs and rabbits. They found three dead guinea pigs and say several of the other animals are sick.
"I would call it pretty extreme neglect -- filthy living conditions, overcrowding," said Aurora Police Capt. Pat Jenkins, the acting police chief. "There's evidence of some disease (and) general lack of care of the animals.
"Some of them appear to be healthy at first glance. Others are in obvious distress. There's hair loss, evidence of skin infection, ear problems in some of the rabbits."
Franzen does not yet face formal charges. He says he can't afford to post the bond -- about $6,000 -- that would be required to get the animals back, so he said he would sign the animals over to the Humane Society and likely be out of business. He said state agents are exaggerating the poor condition of the animals.
"I asked them to show me the sick and diseased animals if they could," Franzen said. "They just told me to leave. They had pictures. They said there were several animals (that) their hair was thin but when you've got a couple of hundred guinea pigs and stuff, you're going to have something in there that chews hair. There's no way of getting around that."
The sickest of the animals were taken to Humane Society headquarters in St. Louis, where they'll be nursed back to health. Those with less serious health problems are being housed at the Carthage Humane Society. Humane Society investigator Alan Miller usually deals with bigger animals.
"Now, if they were horses, cows, livestock, dogs or cats, lions, tigers, bears ... this is a first time for me," Miller said. Regardless of the size of the animals, Miller says neglect and abuse will not be tolerated. References« MO State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Lawrence County, MO
|
