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San Diegan Accused Of Cruelty To 35,000 Rats: Rodents Sold To Pet Stores, Zoos For Food
NBCSandiego.com ^
| August 13, 2003
Posted on 08/13/2003 7:26:41 PM PDT by new cruelty
SAN DIEGO -- A North County man faces possible prison time for allegedly raising 35,000 rats in cruel and filthy conditions.
Peter Springer of Encinitas, Calif., will be arraigned next month on a felony charge of inflicting needless suffering and cruelty to the rodents, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Springer, 62, was co-owner of a company called Rats R Us. The company operated for nearly a decade on 1.5 acres on Union Street near Saxony Road. It sold rats to pet stores and zoos, mostly as food.
Prosecutors decided to file charges after animal control officers inspected the rat-breeding operation in June. Inspectors found tens of thousands of rodents packed into filthy cages. Some were so overcrowded that the animals struggled to breathe, according to the newspaper.
The inspectors reported finding hundreds of decomposing rat carcasses in the cages. Many other rats were determined to be sick or injured.
If convicted, Springer could be sentenced to three years in prison.
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: rodents
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Rats
To: new cruelty
Scientists using lab rats next?
2
posted on
08/13/2003 7:27:46 PM PDT
by
squidly
To: squidly
Matricula cards can't be too far behind.
To: new cruelty
for allegedly raising 35,000 rats in cruel and filthy conditions. Are we sure it wasnt a Dem Convention in a Detroit Hotel?
4
posted on
08/13/2003 7:30:39 PM PDT
by
Lunatic Fringe
(When news breaks, we fix it.)
To: new cruelty
Mmmm... rats.
5
posted on
08/13/2003 7:31:32 PM PDT
by
Sabertooth
(Where do Arnold and McClintock stand on California Drivers' Licenses for Illegal Aliens?)
These suckers make quick work of rats..
To: new cruelty
"..cruelty to the rodents." What's wrong with this phrase?
7
posted on
08/13/2003 7:39:40 PM PDT
by
red-dawg
To: new cruelty
8
posted on
08/13/2003 7:40:01 PM PDT
by
Ichneumon
To: new cruelty
The manufacturer of Raid is next to be indicted, for the murder of tens of millions of ants and roaches.
To: Ichneumon
To: new cruelty
Aren't filthy conditions a natural habitat for rats?
To: lilylangtree
Yeah. But I guess like all living things, they still like to breathe.
To: new cruelty
The rat's lawyers are pro bono as a professional courtesy.
13
posted on
08/13/2003 7:50:33 PM PDT
by
Shmokey
(Always be prepared)
To: Shmokey
BWHAHAHA!
To: lilylangtree
Wouldn't clean, sterile conditions be considered crule conditions to raise rats in?
The perp was quoted as saying, "I started with two rats and before I knew it they were everywhere." :)
15
posted on
08/13/2003 7:56:00 PM PDT
by
anymouse
To: new cruelty
This makes me want to use the F word. Who cares what happens to rats. Why would anybody give a rat's ass? Rats are universally hated. What a stupid state.
16
posted on
08/13/2003 7:56:42 PM PDT
by
bethelgrad
(for God and country)
To: sep·ten·tri·on XX
WTF cares what a rat likes?
17
posted on
08/13/2003 7:59:56 PM PDT
by
Guillermo
(Proud Infidel)
To: bethelgrad
Rats are held in high regard in some places around the world.
To: new cruelty
"Mr. Rat, I have a writ here says you're to stop eating Chin Lee's cornmeal forthwith. Now it's a rat writ, writ for a rat, and this is lawful service of same."
"See, doesn't pay any attention to me. You can't serve papers on a rat, baby sister. You gotta shoot him or let him be."
19
posted on
08/13/2003 8:09:59 PM PDT
by
strela
("Each of us can find a maggot in our past which will happily devour our futures." Horatio Hornblower)
To: new cruelty
I believe you are correct. India, perhaps? IIRC, they feed them in the holy places (whatever they're called).
20
posted on
08/13/2003 8:12:35 PM PDT
by
katze
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