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A tarantula similar to those seized last month
After days of testimony from some of the nation's leading exotic animal experts, an Arlington municipal court judge ruled that more than 27,000 extoic animals seized last month by Arlington Animal Services, with assistance from the SPCA of Texas and the Humane Society of North Texas, were cruelly treated by US Global Exotics and custody of the animals has been awarded to the City of Arlington. The animals, sezied last month, include snakes, spiders, scorpions, turtles, frogs, ferrets, chinchillas, hamsters, gerbils, sloths, wallabees, hedgehogs, lemurs, kinkajous and more. Hundreds of the animals were dead when the raid was conducted last week, and hundreds more have died since then. The original affidavit that resulted in the seizure blames the deaths on illness, lack of food, and cruel confinement.
On the first day of testimony, experts brought in to help out with the unusual array of animals testified that many of the animals housed at US Global Exotics lacked food, water, and proper environments. Some of the animals were housed in unsanitary conditions and others in containers so small they could barely move.
According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, a reptile and public health specialist testified the following day that "U.S. Global Exports is so contaminated by pests, parasites and illness-causing pathogens that it should be demolished or completely gutted and sterilized before housing animals again."
Later that week, the hearing took an unexpected turn when a Fort Worth City Zoo employee who buys and sells exotic animals for his own collection, testified against the City of Arlington saying whenever he'd been to the US Global Exotics warehouse everything he'd seen seemed fine. The prosecution later got the witness to admit that photos taken the day of the raid clearly showed some of the animals were treated improperlly.
Even more bizarre, last Tuesday morning a private investigator working for the attorney defending the owners of US Global Exports call police to the courthouse in an attempt to have the City's key witness arrested for impersonating a private investigator after he admitted to working undercover for PETA. The judge intervened and the admonished the company's attorney.
The judge's ruling references the fact that US Global employed only 3 full time caretakers, yet experts testified it would take 20-40 full time employees to properly care for such a large number of animals. Further, the judge found the animals to be subject to poor air quality, overcrowded conditions, and "unreasonably deprived" of basic needs like food, water, and heat.
The animals have been cared for since the raid by volunteers, vets, exotic experts and staff from the SPCA and the Humane Society of North Texas. The judge's ruling directs that the animals be sold at auction, humanely euthanized or transferred to a non-profit shelter, rescue group or humane society.
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