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David Perle 202-483-7382
San Antonio – Simply obtained by PETA, a U.S. Division of Agriculture (USDA) report reveals {that a} feminine porcupine died after escaping into one other porcupine’s enclosure on the San Antonio Aquarium, prompting the company to situation a important repeat quotation for failing to correctly preserve enclosures to guard the animals. The report states that an aquarium worker discovered the lifeless porcupine with quills from the opposite animal lodged in her physique and that the 2 had been separated as a consequence of incompatibility points.
The strip mall aquarium—related to convicted wildlife trafficker Ammon Covino—apparently acquired the feminine porcupine in June from SeaQuest, a nationwide chain of aquariums owned by Covino’s brother, Vince, which are stricken by animal welfare points, animal deaths, authorized violations, and accidents to staff and the general public from direct contact with animals.
“A porcupine died as a result of the San Antonio Aquarium couldn’t be bothered to safe the enclosures of two animals it knew couldn’t be collectively,” says PETA Basis Director of Captive Animal Regulation Enforcement Michelle Sinnott. “This tragic and preventable demise underscores why PETA urges the general public to keep away from this facility as if lives rely upon it—as a result of they do.”
San Antonio Aquarium’s incapability to supply animals with the naked minimal care required by the federal Animal Welfare Act has resulted in earlier USDA citations, together with for a number of incidents wherein lemurs bit or scratched prospects throughout encounters and for failing to maintain a number of different enclosures in good restore—placing animals susceptible to harm. PETA notes that Ammon Covino is prohibited from holding a USDA exhibitor’s license due to his legal historical past however seems to have continued his involvement within the San Antonio Aquarium through the use of his spouse’s identify on official paperwork.
PETA’s motto reads, partially, that “animals will not be ours to make use of for leisure,” and the group opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For extra data on PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please go to PETA.org, take heed to The PETA Podcast, or comply with the group on X (previously Twitter), Fb, or Instagram.
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