The fate of hundreds of pet rabbits and rodents from the OC animal shelter is unknown. We need an independent investigation.

In just 20 months, OC Animal Care (OCAC) gave 273 rodents, 200 rabbits, and other small pets to a reptile group. Why a reptile group? Did OCAC even make an effort to find species-appropriate rescues? We don’t know. We’re worried about what happened to these small pets.

On a recent similar case involving animals from San Diego, the Sacramento Bee reports that: “About 250 ‘pocket pets’ — guinea pigs, rats and mice, hamsters, and rabbits — likely ended up in the hands of a reptile dealer.” “Information clearly indicates (the reptile breeder’s) intention to use these animals as feed instead of finding them adoptive homes.”

Snapshots of email correspondence obtained via Public Record requests show that the OC shelter typically offered many small pets at once. The reptile group then took rodents and rabbits in bulk without asking for precise numbers and types of animals. That’s highly unusual.

Correspondence from Supervisor Doug Chaffee, August 8, 2023 (BOS Agenda #28): “[…] my office did a cat and rabbit adoption event. […] I was there about a month before, and they had about two dozen white rats. And I asked, how are you going to deal with these rats? And we came back, and they were all gone by Saturday. They found homes.”

Correspondence to Supervisor Chaffee from Boyer: “We hope these pets are doing fine, but there’s room for doubt. San Diego small pets sent to a “rescue” earlier this year were used as snake food. You and the rest of the Board must appoint an independent investigator to document the fate of the small pets that OC Animal Care sent to a reptile group.”

OC Animal Care made this reptile group its primary destination for small pets. From 2023 to mid-September, the shelter found adoptive homes for only 58 rodents – but gave 89 rodents to the reptile group. That’s pretty lopsided. The reptile group did not promote these small pets on its social media. It has produced no documents or other hard evidence about where these small pets ended up. In the past, it has advertised the availability of “feeder” rodents, including live ones.

San Diego Humane hired an independent investigator when its small pets were not fully accounted for. Its partner, Southern Arizona Humane, fired its CEO over the lost animals. In contrast, OCAC and OC Community Resources (OCCR) insist that everything is fine… while refusing to provide documentation on what happened to these pets. A reputable rescue should have animal-by-animal records. Given the large number of animals involved, OC should have asked for details before publicly exposing its negligence.

Is this another facet of the mismanagement of the OC shelter (currently directed by Monica Schmidt) and the lack of oversight by OC Community Resources (directed by Dylan Wright and Cymantha Atkinson)? Managerial dysfunction and poor leadership were documented in a Grand Jury report. Line staff are hard-working and conscientious, but bad policies, insufficient training, and no strategic plan stymie them.

An independent outside investigator must be appointed directly by the Board of Supervisors to get a verifiable paper trail for every animal the OC shelter handed over to the reptile group. We cannot trust OCAC/OCCR to be judge and jury on their negligence. They have a record of misinforming the public. Contact county supervisors and other elected officials and ask for accountability.

[Note: If you surrendered a small pet to OC, submit an OC Public Record request. Give basic information about the animal (such as name, ID, intake date, or just a photo of relevant paperwork) and ask for all of the animal’s paperwork, including adoption or transfer documents.]