State Police Investigate Report of Animal Cruelty at Sugar Valley Guinea Pig Farm

LOGANTON – State police at Lamar are investigating a cruelty to animals report at the John K. Esh farm at 72 Kreamer Lane in Greene Township. The case involves guinea pigs being bred there.

State police were called in after a request from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The PETA intervention was based on information from inspection reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to a Tuesday story posted on pennlive.com, the USDA reports stemmed from visits conducted in January, February and March of this year.

PETA vice-president of evidence analysis Daniel Paden, in a letter to state police, alleges five guinea pigs were killed over a six-month period through the use of blunt force trauma. The USDA report referred to the operation as “a hellhole where hundreds of guinea pigs were left to suffer in filth, including without veterinary care,” according to PETA Senior Vice-President Daphna Nachminovitch.

PETA said 1,248 guinea pigs were found at the site. The report contained graphic descriptions of conditions at the facility, stating that some 90 percent of the self-feeders attached to the inside of the guinea pig enclosures contained fecal material mixed in with the feed.

The report was also critical of the facility’s record keeping, stating that sales slips were incomplete, making it difficult to track the animals and document changes in ownership.