For years, Hancock County, Ohio breeder James Franklin Ritterspach allegedly hid hundreds of chinchillas from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors by keeping them in a second, undisclosed building. A tip from PETA cracked the case open: after federal officials questioned him, Ritterspach admitted the hidden building existed. Inspectors went in and found 1,147 chinchillas total, nearly three times what USDA records had shown.

What they found inside was worse than a paperwork gap. Inspection reports documented animals with a metal collar embedded in the neck, eyes swollen shut and oozing, overgrown teeth, an injured ear, and fur matted badly enough to cover patches of skin. Vets flagged health concerns in at least 33 of the chinchillas found. According to the Department of Justice's complaint, Ritterspach said someone had told him the second building "would never pass inspection," and he kept it hidden anyway.

A federal court has already issued a temporary restraining order, and Ritterspach is now also under a separate state criminal cruelty investigation. But a hearing on September 4 in Toledo will help decide what happens next: whether his license to breed and sell animals is revoked for good, and whether every one of these 1,147 chinchillas is placed somewhere safe instead of returned to his custody.

Concealing animals from inspectors for years shouldn't be a business strategy. Sign the petition demanding the USDA and the Department of Justice permanently revoke Ritterspach's license and ensure all 1,147 chinchillas are removed from his custody before the September 4 hearing.