"A Hollywood horror writer couldn't write something like this." That's how the CEO of the San Diego Humane Society put it to the Washington Post when discussing what befell the 318 small animals that were transferred to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona in early August. The move seemed like a godsend: SDHS' first-ever transfer would help with overcrowding—it's a no-kill facility and was at 160% capacity—and hopefully end with the bunnies, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, and mice being adopted into permanent homes. Instead, more than 250 of those animals are unaccounted for, and it's believed many ended up fed to reptiles in a live or frozen state.
The Post explains that things seemed questionable from nearly the start. The Tucson-based organization is far smaller, taking in roughly one-tenth the number of animals each year that SDHS does. The arrival of so many animals should have been major news. Instead, there was silence: no new adoption listings or publicized adoption events. When questions started being raised, HSSA couldn't produce intake or adoption paperwork. It initially claimed the animals had immediately gone to a "family-run, family-funded rescue" that didn't want its identity made public. The then-CEO of HSSA later said 62 of the animals had been transferred back to HSSA. Animal welfare activists started sniffing around about the fate of the rest.
What they found was the family business the animals had gone to was Fertile Turtle, a reptile breeding business run by brothers Trevor and Colten Jones. HSSA officials (who have since been fired or resigned) claimed the brothers had found homes for all the animals with friends and family. Activists ratcheted up pressure, and both shelters in October started internal probes complete with private investigators.
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But the biggest clue appears to have been uncovered by KVOA, which obtained this text sent by Colten Jones to a Phoenix reptile breeder the day after the transfer: "Do you have the ability to freeze off a bunch of guinea pigs and or rabbits? I don't have the manpower or labor to be able to do it in time for the [reptile] show." The shelters at this point doubt the missing animals are alive; they continue to work together in their search for answers. The AP reports they are considering taking legal action against the reptile breeder. (More animal welfare stories.)
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