More than 1,100 chinchillas have been removed from a single Ohio breeding operation after its owner allegedly hid hundreds of animals from federal inspectors. Congress should make sure that misleading inspectors under the Animal Welfare Act carries clear, serious penalties written into law.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, R & R Chinchilla in Jenera, Ohio, told U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors it kept between 300 and 450 chinchillas. The government’s complaint alleges that roughly 800 more were kept out of sight in a separate building. When inspectors went inside that building on August 5, they reported dead animals, cages with floors covered in waste, open packets of rat poison near enclosures, and ammonia fumes so strong they had to leave.

Humane World for Animals rescued 951 of the chinchillas. Its veterinary exams found overgrown teeth, sores, urine burns and badly matted fur, and some animals were missing limbs, toes or ears. Laura Koivula, the group’s director of animal crimes and investigations, said it was “like walking through a factory of forgotten souls.”

The case closed with a court-approved agreement to give up the remaining animals, a promise from the company’s president to end all work regulated under the Animal Welfare Act, and a separate consent decree with the USDA permanently revoking his license. That shuts down one operation. It does nothing to stop the next breeder who decides hiding animals is worth the risk.

Members of the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry oversee the Animal Welfare Act. They can set firm, specific penalties for any licensed breeder who deceives federal inspectors.

These chinchillas could not speak for themselves. Sign the petition to make hiding animals from inspectors a risk no breeder can afford to take.