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Petland Employee Drowns Rabbits Wednesday, August 5: Elizabeth Carlisle, an employee at a Petland store in Akron, Ohio, posted a photo of herself grinning as she holds two dead, soaking-wet rabbits by the scruff of the neck—-rabbits she just drowned while on Petland's time clock. On Carlisle's Facebook page, she confirmed a friend's guess that she had drowned these two rabbits and wrote, "[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." These horrific deaths followed what was apparently an equally horrifying life for these rabbits.Other comments Carlisle posted made it clear that the rabbits were drowned after sustaining agonizing injuries when they were allowed to "attack and eat each other." The rabbits suffered from "deep wounds all over," "an eye missing," what Petland staff "suspected was a broken jaw," and paralysis from the waist down—injuries that would not have occurred had these animals been provided with proper care and supervision. Please let Petland know that you are horrified about the fact that not only do they remain the only national pet retailer that still sells rabbits, but that their employees, with the encouragement of their managers, sadistly torture and kill rabbits at work. Please send Petland a letter or email, or give them a call to let them know of your concerns, via the contact information below: Ed Kunzelman, Founder and Chair Frank Difatta, President Petland USA 250 Riverside St. Chillicothe, OH 45601 800-221-5935 740-775-2575 (fax) Email: Frank Difatta Update 8/5: While Petland has closed this particular store, letters and phone calls are still needed letting Petland know that animal lovers will not shop at Petland as long as they continue to sell rabbits. While Petland says this incident is "isolated," it is clearly a symptom of a larger problem of a national chain store selling animals, and dealing with animals who are "problems." In addition, we know that things like this have happened at other Petland locations. Update 11/1: Elizabeth Carlisle is being prosecuted for animal cruelty, and her trial is set to begin on December 15. Please contact the DA and ask for the strongest possible sentence: Holland & Muirden Attorneys at Law J. Jeffrey Holland 1343 Sharon-Copley Rd P.O. Box 345 Sharon Center, Ohio 44274 Email: jjholland@hmlawohio.com Phone: (866) 684-7336 The Holland & Muirden website includes information on Mr. Holland's involvement in animal abuse cases. From their website: "Holland & Muirden has been appointed by over twenty county humane societies to act as special prosecutor for animal cruelty cases. As long-standing members of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, we pursue a broad range of animal welfare issues, from veterinary malpractice, to estate planning for the care of a pet, to zoning issues relating to animals." |
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 House Rabbit Society is a non-profit rescue and education group. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! |