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Facebook shows Petland employee drowning rabbits
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The House Rabbit Society
PETA, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, elicits strong reactions from people, and for good reason. They are controversial, and even strong animal advocates winch at some of their causes, such as saving flies from President Obama.
Then, there are times where people who care about animals are glad that PETA exists to take up causes that others avoid. Like this one:
PETA was alerted to a Facebook photo and discussion thread indicating that a Petland employee named Elizabeth Carlisle deliberately drowned two rabbits on July 28 at a Petland store in Akron. PETA wrote to Petland's founder, Ed Kunzelman, and its president, Frank Difatta, calling for an end to rabbit sales at the national pet store chain.
PETA is also asking Petland to conduct an internal investigation of the incident and is calling on Petland's corporate office to support the criminal prosecution of Carlisle, if warranted, as well as to immediately review and strengthen company procedures pertaining to euthanasia and the treatment of sick and injured animals.
The Facebook photo shows a grinning Carlisle -- who worked at the Petland store located at 2000 Brittain Rd., Ste. 41, in Akron -- dangling two dead, soaking-wet rabbits by the scruff of their necks. Carlisle confirms a Facebook friend's guess that she drowned the rabbits, writing, "[T]he manager took the pic for me. [S]he reminded me that there were people outside as [I] was swearing at them to just hurry up and die but then she was so kind as to take this picture."
Carlisle's other comments indicate that the rabbits had been allowed to "attack" and "eat" each other (behavior that may have been caused by crowding and poor husbandry) while in the store's "care" and that rabbits had sustained injuries, including "deep wounds all over," "an eye missing," what Petland staff "suspected was a broken jaw," and paralysis from the waist down. The case is currently under criminal investigation by law-enforcement authorities.
"Petland has no business selling any animals," says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "Its management and staff seem unable to provide rabbits with basic supervision and care and don't appear to have anything close to a decent attitude toward them. But at the very least, Petland should follow the example of other national pet store chains and immediately stop selling these small, vulnerable animals."
I understand they don't do such a good job with puppies either.
Source: Press release: PETA
To learn how rabbits should be treated, visit House Rabbit Society.
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