Chinchilla Supplier Loses License over Animal Welfare Violations

Moulton Chinchilla Ranch, the main US source of the animals for research, had a years-long history of disturbing findings in USDA inspections.

Written byShawna Williams
| 1 min read
a long room lined with metal cages with chinchillas

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ABOVE: A photograph of the Moulton Chinchilla Ranch taken during an undercover investigation by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
PETA

A Minnesota animal supplier, Moulton Chinchilla Ranch, has lost its license, a judge ruled on Friday (October 8). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) had requested action from the court after finding what it said were violations of the Animal Welfare Act during inspections, including animals that had not received timely veterinary care and sharp, rusty edges on animals’ housing.

According to National Geographic, one USDA inspector, Brenton Cox, testified during the hearing that he had nightmares after walking through the facility, and had made it a training tool for “how to deal with the worst-case scenario facilities.”

Attorney Russ Mead of Lewis & Clark Law School notes in comments to Science that the facility had an eight-year history of animal welfare violations. “It took 213 violations ...

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Meet the Author

  • Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Previously, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, and in the communications offices of several academic research institutions. As news director, Shawna assigned and edited news, opinion, and in-depth feature articles for the website on all aspects of the life sciences. She is based in central Washington State, and is a member of the Northwest Science Writers Association and the National Association of Science Writers.

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