{"id":1308609,"date":"2023-11-01T20:12:25","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T20:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=38c788619d0a7a60ec414693e3ada277"},"modified":"2023-11-01T20:12:25","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T20:12:25","slug":"local-sugar-glider-breeding-facilitys-alarming-pattern-of-animal-welfare-violations-leads-peta-to-seek-criminal-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/11\/01\/local-sugar-glider-breeding-facilitys-alarming-pattern-of-animal-welfare-violations-leads-peta-to-seek-criminal-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Sugar Glider Breeding Facility\u2019s Alarming Pattern of Animal Welfare Violations Leads PETA to Seek Criminal Probe"},"content":{"rendered":"

A damning U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report<\/a> just obtained by PETA reveals that Sugar Glider Alley, a Jefferson County breeding facility operated by Sylvia Dishman, has been cited yet again for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act\u2014this time related to an \u201cexcessive accumulation of waste\u201d on the animals\u2019 cage racks\u2014marking the 32nd<\/sup> violation there since 2014<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Despite this pattern of repeated violations, the USDA has yet to rescue a single animal or seek any penalties against Dishman, so PETA rushed a letter to James B. Dunn, the district attorney general for the Fourth Judicial District, urging him to have a veterinarian visit the facility with investigators and file appropriate charges against those responsible for the neglect.<\/p>\n

According to the report, on September 20 a USDA inspector observed waste on the cage racks, \u201csplashed and dried\u201d on nearby walls, and even \u201caccumulated\u201d on the animals\u2019 water sources. The sugar gliders were also exposed to such \u201ca large amount of flying insects\u201d that \u201cthe inspector was continually swiping at gnats while speaking.\u201d Nearly half the cages were severely rusted and\/or corroded, with a \u201csticky layer\u201d on them\u2014a disease hazard risk for the animals inside. This neglect appears to violate Tennessee\u2019s prohibition against cruelty to animals.<\/p>\n

Dishman has been repeatedly cited for similar filth, including in 2015 when a \u201cbrown sticky substance\u201d was first documented on the sugar gliders\u2019 cages and the \u201codor \u2026 was so strong and pungent that the inspector acquired a headache.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMiserable mills like this one deny animals proper care and treat them as nothing but commodities,\u201d says PETA Vice President of Evidence Analysis Daniel Paden. \u201cPETA is urging local authorities to prosecute those responsible for this persistent neglect and calls on everyone to avoid buying any animals from breeders or pet stores, which keep operations like this one in business, and to adopt an animal from a shelter instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

PETA is pursuing charges under state law because the USDA doesn\u2019t render relief or aid to animals during its inspections and\u2014as Dishman\u2019s history of violations shows\u2014these infractions carry no federal criminal or civil penalties.<\/p>\n

PETA\u2014whose motto reads, in part, that \u201canimals are not ours to abuse in any way\u201d\u2014opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org<\/strong><\/a>, listen to The PETA Podcast<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter)<\/strong><\/a>, Facebook<\/strong><\/a>, or Instagram<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PETA\u2019s letter to Dunn follows.<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

November 1, 2023<\/p>\n

The Honorable James B. Dunn<\/p>\n

District Attorney General for the Fourth Judicial District<\/p>\n

Dear Mr. Dunn:<\/p>\n

I hope this letter finds you well. I\u2019m 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 neglecting animals at Sugar Glider Alley, operated by Sylvia Dishman and located at 904 Beechwood Dr. near Dandridge. PETA hopes investigators will visit the facility with a veterinarian who has expertise in exotic-animal health and welfare so that they can identify any animals in need of care and opine on the conditions of and for the approximately 160 sugar gliders there.<\/p>\n

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) staff have documented persistent neglect at the kennel in the attached reports, the latest of which was just made public. On September 20, a USDA veterinarian found \u201can excessive accumulation of waste \u2026 on the [animals\u2019] cage racks\u201d as well as waste \u201csplashed and dried\u201d on nearby walls and \u201caccumulated\u201d on the animals\u2019 water sources. The animals were exposed to such \u201ca large amount of flying insects\u201d that \u201cthe inspector was continually swiping at gnats while speaking.\u201d Furthermore, nearly half the cages were severely rusted and\/or corroded, with a \u201csticky layer accumulating\u201d on them\u2014a disease hazard risk for the animals inside. This neglect appears to violate Tennessee\u2019s prohibition against cruelty to animals, T.C.A. \u00a7 39-14-202.<\/p>\n

Please note that beyond the offense\u2019s statute of limitations, Dishman has been repeatedly cited for similar filth since at least September 2014, when fruit flies were seen in sugar glider cages. In November 2015, a \u201cbrown sticky substance\u201d was first documented on Dishman\u2019s cages and the \u201codor \u2026 was so strong and pungent that the inspector acquired a headache.\u201d In May 2017, the \u201cstrong odor\u201d and \u201cbrown sticky substance\u201d were again documented. Seven months later, dead fruit flies and a \u201csticky film\u201d were found near sugar gliders there. In May 2022, yet again a \u201cvery strong odor\u201d was noted, along with waste on cage floors.<\/p>\n

The USDA renders no aid or relief whatsoever to animals on site, and these reports carry no criminal or civil penalties and don\u2019t preempt criminal liability under state law for neglecting animals.<\/strong> If you\u2019d like to learn more about the agency\u2019s findings, please see the contact information for its office in Riverdale, Maryland, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thank you for your time and consideration.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Daniel Paden<\/p>\n

Vice President of Evidence Analysis<\/p>\n

PETA<\/p>\n<\/div>

The post Local Sugar Glider Breeding Facility\u2019s Alarming Pattern of Animal Welfare Violations Leads PETA to Seek Criminal Probe<\/a> appeared first on PETA<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on Animal Rights and Campaign News | PETA<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A damning U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report just obtained by PETA reveals that Sugar Glider Alley, a Jefferson County breeding facility operated by Sylvia Dishman, has been cited yet again for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act\u2014this time related to an \u201cexcessive accumulation of waste\u201d on the animals\u2019 cage racks\u2014marking the 32nd violation there… Read more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

The post Local Sugar Glider Breeding Facility\u2019s Alarming Pattern of Animal Welfare Violations Leads PETA to Seek Criminal Probe<\/a> appeared first on PETA<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":708,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3407],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308609"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/708"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1308609"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1310077,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1308609\/revisions\/1310077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1308609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1308609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1308609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}