More than 1,100 chinchillas have been surrendered by a Northwest Ohio breeder after federal inspectors found the animals living in filthy, overcrowded conditions — including about 800 hidden in a second building the breeder had kept from inspectors for years.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio endorsed a consent decree on Nov. 2 requiring R & R Chinchilla Inc., a breeding facility near Jenera in Hancock County, south of Findlay on State Route 103, to surrender its remaining 300-plus chinchillas. The company had already given up roughly 800 more under a temporary restraining order, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which announced the settlement Nov. 3.

USDA inspectors documented animals with untreated medical conditions and excessive fecal accumulation across 18 inspections since September 2022, finding 59 violations in the past four years. Inspectors also found that owner James F. Ritterspach had told them the facility held 300 to 450 animals, while about 800 more were concealed in a separate building withheld from inspection for years.

When inspectors finally gained access to that building on Aug. 5, they found hundreds of animals in dire conditions — a building one official described as worse than any facility inspectors had ever seen. Inspectors found animals with eyes so swollen and oozing they could not open them, fecal material covering the floor of hundreds of enclosures, ammonia levels so high inspectors coughed and had to leave the building, open packets of rat poison kept next to enclosures, a metal collar embedded in an animal’s neck, and multiple dead animals. In one instance, inspectors watched Ritterspach rip a four-by-six-inch mat of hair off a chinchilla while holding the animal by the tail.

R & R Chinchilla had bred chinchillas for more than 40 years. Ritterspach’s attorney told the Canton Repository that his client, now in his mid-80s and in failing health, was no longer able to care for the animals the way he once had. Under the consent decree, Ritterspach agreed to permanently stop any activity regulated under the Animal Welfare Act, and his federal license to breed animals has been revoked.

Humane World for Animals, called in by the Justice Department to help with the rescue, said many of the animals were missing limbs, toes or ears and suffering from severely matted fur, inflamed skin, overgrown teeth, scabs, sores and urine scalding. The organization removed 642 chinchillas over two days and returned Nov. 3 for the final 309. The animals were taken to an undisclosed location for treatment and exams.

“These animals deserve the opportunity to experience a life free from such suffering, and together, we’re giving them that chance,” said Mark Finneran, Ohio director for Humane World for Animals.

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice and Canton Repository

Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Alexander Batyashev