|
|
|
Home
|
Triple F Farms Investigations The Atrocity at Triple F Farms by Sara Hamilton, AFA Vice-President Many ferret owners sat in utter horror as they watched the horrendous video of intense animal (ferret) cruelty aired by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) of a three month undercover investigation at Triple F Farms, a large, well known ferret breeding mill, in Sayre, PA on September 2, 2011. If you are one of the few that has not seen this disturbing and appalling video, it can be viewed directly here. Triple F Farms is reported to house approximately 6,000 ferrets and are sold to laboratories around the world and pet stores across the US, like Petland. According to their website. Triple F Farms says "Our babies are very special to us" and "we take great pride in the quality of our animals." Based on PETA’s evidence to federal and state law enforcement officials, the USDA-APHIS (United States Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) launched an investigation at Triple F Farms on August 23, 2011. USDA-APHIS publicly released their inspection report, which supported PETA’s initial findings, on September 16, 2011. The violations are numerous and the full report can be viewed here with Triple F Farms customer number of 17976. Just as PETA’s video depicted, the USDA-APHIS inspection revealed that Triple F Farms as conducting improper veterinary care, including improper surgical methods, conducting medical procedures without a licensed veterinarian, denying ferrets basic living needs such as proper housing, bedding, water and food, inadequate birthing cages, and not enough employees to manage the care of the 6000+ ferrets housed in the barns. Some violations are to cease immediately, as in all surgical procedures, while others have a deadline to be rectified, as in hiring an adequate staff to care for the ferrets by September 24, 2011. The USDA-APHIS will launch another investigation as these deadlines come due. With the ferret community in outrage, the AFA launched a press release on September 8, 2011, which included a request to Triple F Farms to visit their facility. After the release of the USDA-APHIS inspection report, the AFA released another press release on September 18, 2011. To date, the AFA has yet to receive any response from Triple F Farms. Therefore, the AFA has instructed Triple F Farms to remove all links and references to the AFA from their website and any printed or electrically transmitted materials until such time as the AFA is welcomed into their facility to view the conditions and offer best husbandry practices. To view the press releases in their entirety, visit the AFA website at www.ferret.org If you’re feeling as offended as most ferret owners and want to make a difference to stop the abuse, here are some ways to make your voice heard. Below are some petitions available to sign as well some sample letters to send to your elected officials, government organizations that hold contracts with Triple F Farms, and local agencies close to the situation. We need to bombard everyone we can about this horrendous situation and fast. Lest they not forget about these precious animals who are being abused and suffering everyday! Barbara Clay and Lisa Oestereich have spear-headed an active Facebook discussion group where you can discuss this issue at length here. See below for links to Petitions for Signature, links to Letter Writing Campaigns, and sample letters. A Notice From Petland Petland has no national relationship with Triple F Farms, a ferret breeder from Sayre, PA, and has placed them on its Do Not Buy List. Petland has conducted its own internal investigation and has not found any store that is currently purchasing from Triple F Farms. By being placed on Petland's Do Not Buy list, we have alerted all stores that they are not to purchase from Triple F Farms under any circumstance. Elizabeth KunzelmanDirector of Marketing & Communication Petland, Inc. (740) 775-2464 (740) 772-9009 Fax ** What You Can Do ** PETA video: click to see the video USDA Report: Click here Then enter 17976 in the customer search box and click on the 'Search' button. Then click on the 'Inspection Information' tab to view the reports. Petitions to Sign: PETA ForceChange Change.org Letter Writing Campaigns AFA Sample letter to the USDA Kinship Circle You can also contact the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), NIH (National Institutes of Health), and the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) about Triple F Farms and request that these government organizations cease all contracts with Triple F Farms. You may choose to write a letter, phone and/or email your concerns. All contact info is listed below. Sample letter CDC letter should be addressed and with proper salutation to: Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. Director-Centers For Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd. NE Atlanta, GA.30333 CDC director PHONE and Email FDA letter should be addressed and with proper salutation to: Margaret Hamburg, M.D. U.S. Food and Drug Administration 10903 New Hampshire Ave Silver Spring, MD. 20993-0002 FDA commissioner (top person's title in this case) Email NIH letter should be addressed and with proper salutation to: Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. National Institutes of Health 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD. 20892 NIH director Phone and Email For residents of Pennsylvania, please send your letters to your own State elected officials as well as to the Pennsylvania elected officials as this is where Triple F Farms is headquartered (Sayre, PA.-Bradford County). Below are links to get contact information for the interested parties. Sample letter to PA Officials generated by the Facebook discussion group (link to group is in the above article). Send to: US House of Representatives US Senate Bradford County Officials Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania Governor Honorable Governor Tom Corbitt First Lady (Governor’s Wife): Susan Corbitt Governor's Office 225 Main Capitol Building Harrisburg, PA. 17120 Phone: (717) 787-2500 Fax: (717) 772-8284 Email: Governor@pa.gov Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Honorable Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley 200 Main Capitol Building Harrisburg, PA. 17120 Phone: (717) 787-3300 Fax: (717) 783-0150 Email Writing to the Bradford County Health Department: Bradford County Health Department does not take animal complaints of any kind, and they referred us to the PA Department of Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture representative, Regent III, says they are not charged with enforcing animal cruelty laws, however, he said that if they receive a number of complaints, they would research to see what laws they could enforce. They are aware of the situation at Triple F Farms. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture PO Box C Tunkhannock, PA. 18657 Phone: (570) 836-2181 Writing to the Bradford County Humane Society: Bradford County Humane Society Po Box 179 Route 220 Ulster, PA. 18850 Phone: (570) 888-2114 Fax: (570) 888-8707 Email: bradfordchs@cyberquest.com AFA's Press Releases***** September 18, 2011 For Immediate Release: To date, the American Ferret Association's request to visit Triple F Farms' facility has gone unanswered. We are sending instructions to Triple F Farms management to remove our website link and all references to the American Ferret Association from their website and any printed or electronically transmitted materials. Until such time as the AFA is welcomed into their facility to view the conditions, and offer husbandry best practices for breeding jills and jills with kits, we cannot in good conscience allow Triple F Farms to affiliate themselves with us in any manner. We encourage the ferret-loving community to educate themselves with the facts surrounding the Triple F Farms situation. Inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service went to Triple F Farms on August 23-24 after a meeting with PETA. Triple F Farms has three weeks to appeal the USDA Inspector's report, which will not be made public until the appeal and correction process is complete. To view the USDA report, click here. Then enter 17976 in the customer search box and click on the 'Search' button. Then click on the 'Inspection Information' tab to view the reports. Kim Crivello September 8, 2011 For Immediate Release: The American Ferret Association is aware of the recent release of PETA's undercover investigation of Triple F Farms' breeding farm.
Kim Crivello |
|
No part of this web site may be produced, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means -- electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise -- without the written permission of the copyright owner. American Ferret Association, Inc., the American Ferret Association logo, and the phrase "Ferret Expo" are registered trademarks of the American Ferret Association, Inc.
| ||
