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A whistleblower recently contacted PETA regarding BPD, Inc. (formerly “Barney’s Pets Inc.”), a massive dealer and breeder of small animals that reportedly supplies big-box pet stores like PetSmart and Petco. We were told that BPD, Inc. drivers transport live animals to be sold as pets—including rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, reptiles, and other small animals—across multiple states on multiple-day trips and leave them in unattended vehicles for extended periods, including overnight.
Photograph from PETA’s investigation of Great Pets
During transport, hundreds of animals per vehicle are reportedly deprived of sufficient water, proper ventilation, and appropriate ambient temperatures, and drivers have no means of seeking veterinary care for animals found sick or injured. The whistleblower indicated that animals often escape from enclosures and that drivers abandon them wherever the vehicle is when the doors are opened or leave them for dead in the vehicle, with no way to survive. We were also told that reckless drivers have crashed vans full of live animals and left one unattended vehicle running, resulting in it and the animals inside being stolen.
Online reviews of the company also reveal a litany of complaints, including animals arriving at stores malnourished, suffering from untreated respiratory infections, ringworm, or other ailments, or even reeking of cigarette smoke.
PETA urgently alerted the company to this recent report and asked that it take immediate action to ensure that all animals are provided with safe, lawful, and humane handling, care, and transportation. We urged BPD to increase the oversight of drivers and deploy them in pairs, which would allow them to drive straight through to their destination and decrease the amount of time animals are languishing in vehicles. However, the CEO of BPD, Inc. has not responded.
Please join us in asking him to act now.