A U.S. Department of Agriculture complaint about Moulton Chinchilla Ranch documented 85 sick, untreated chinchillas, including this one photographed in 2017 with red swelling under its chin.
By Meredith WadmanBiomedical researchers rely on chinchillas–docile South American rodents with ears strikingly similar to those of humans—for studies of ear infections and hearing loss.
But the two main U.S. chinchilla suppliers to research labs have for years violated the U.S. Animal Welfare Act, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), which enforces that law. Until the pandemic descended, the two suppliers sent hundreds of animals to U.S.