Chris DeRose, President
Last Chance for Animals
Can it really be true that stolen dogs and cats are used
for scientific experimentation? The United States Congress knew it was
true when they passed major legislation to combat it in 1966--but they
failed. Congress still knew it was true when they passed ammendments as
recently as 1990 to combat pet theft for experimentation--again they
failed. The researchers know it is true, but they claim it is not their
fault. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) knows it is true, but
cannot or will not create and enforce regulations to stop it.
"Our goverment encourages pet theft through the USDA's
animal dealer licensing system. Our tax dollars pay for pet theft by
funding facilities that experiment on companion animals. Stolen pets
have been recovered from laboratories and medical facilities. Pet theft
has become a national scandal."
Pet peddlers prey on people who can no longer keep their
pets. Desperate owners listen to promises of good and loving homes. The
promises are not kept. Instead your pets' fate is a laboratory or
medical facility where they die painful and lonely deaths.
PET THEFT FOR PROFIT
Every year hundreds of thousands of companion animals are stolen or
obtained fraudulently by people answering "Free to Good Home" ads in
newspapers. Our pets are stolen by "B" dealers and "bunchers" who are
licensed by the USDA to deal in "random source" animals. The licensing
of "B" dealers by the USDA opens the door for the extensive illegal
activity that LCA has been waging war against for years. It encourages
pet theft for profit.
The biomedical community's desire for companion type
animals continues. The Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy,
Interior, and Transportation, as well as university medical schools,
hospitals, and Veterans Administration, all participate in pet theft
when they buy animals from "B" dealers. Even with repeated violations,
dealers are rarely cited.
Write: Your Senator and Congressional Representative in
Washington.
Also write to: Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
14th St. and Independence Ave. S.W.
Washington D.C. 20250.
Demand the abolition of the Class B dealer's license and
an end to random source animal use in experimentation.
LCA MAKES HISTORY WITH
PRECEDENT-SETTING GUILTY VERDICT
On August 9, 1991, nearly four years after being discovered by LCA, USDA
"B" dealers Barbara Ruggiero and Frederick Spero and "buncher" Ralf
Jacobsen were convicted in Superior Court of CONSIPRACY and FELONY GRAND
THEFT OF DOGS. It was the FIRST CONVICTION of its kind in the United
States. In January 1988, after years of surveillance and investigation,
LCA uncovered a pet theft ring operated by the three. By responding to
"free to good home" ads, they had collected over 140 dogs and cats and
sold them for biomedical experimentation. Although Cedars Sinai Hospital
in Los Angeles admitted they were the recipients of 31 dogs, only 6 were
alive. Loma Linda University received 18 dogs but none remained. The
Veterans Administration Hospital received 29 and 8 were still alive.
While the pet-nappers were out on bail awaiting trial, they assumed
aliases and set up business in another city. As LCA continued to monitor
the trio's activities, a combined LCA/LASPCA sting operation was set up
and broadcast on national news. It led directly to the thieves' second
arrest. The trio's precedent-setting guilty verdict gives LCA an
important victory in our ongoing fight to protect defenseless animals.
Judge David M. Schacter sentenced Ruggiero to six years and two months
in state prison. Spero and Jacobsen were given five years and three
years respectively. Judge Schacter called Ruggiero the "personificaiton
of evil" and "conniving and manipulative." He said the trio was "greedy,
insensitive, and deceitful."
"It's time for people to speak out and demand that the
government end this travesty."
Chris DeRose, President
PROTECTING YOUR PET
* DO keep your pet indoors, especially when you are not at home.
* DO properly indentify your pet. Use the leg to tattoo as ears can be
cut off.
* DO keep a collar on your pet.
* DO be aware of strangers in the neighborhood. Report anything
suspicious to the police.
* DO have advertisements in newspapers for pet adoptions read "NO
BUNCHERS."
* DO padlock your gate.
* DO keep your dog on a leash.
* DO make neighbors and friends aware of the problem of PET THEFT.
* DO NOT let your pet roam free in your neighborhood.
* DO NOT leave your pet unattended at any time.
* DO NOT tie your pet outside a store to wait for you.
* DO NOT use "Free To Good Home" ads to place your pet in a new home.
* DO NOT place your pet in a new home without checking the new owners'
references
* DO NOT place your pet in a new home without first visiting the
premises.
* DO NOT place your pet in a new home without having the new owners sign
a pet adoption contract.
* DO NOT let your pet be visible from the street.
If you have any information about pet theft in your
area, call us at (310) 271-6096
For more information, call: 1-800-4-PET-THEFT
(cost $3.00 per minute--must be 18 years or older)
LAST CHANCE FOR ANIMALS
8033 Sunset Boulevard
Suite 35
Los Angeles CA 90046
Office: (310) 271-6096
Fax: (310) 271-1890
Hotline: (310) 271-1409
Go on to For Sale
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