Animal rescue groups are asking the public to help find the homes of hundreds of guinea pigs found at their homes in South Los Angeles this week.
The Guinea Pig Rescue in Southern California said 400-500 guinea pigs were in the residence when they visited on Thursday night, and the landlords had tenants find a home for them and risk evictions until Saturday.
SCGPR officials told City News Service on Saturday that the deadline was extended, but for how long it was not clear.
“We are currently exploring opportunities to safely transport some of these guinea pigs all over the United States, with reliable ethical rescue and opportunities to safely transport them to sanctuaries,” group CEO Valerie Warren told CNS. “These potential partnerships could significantly expand our ability to save these lives, and as this effort develops, we urge our public to continue to keep an eye on our social media pages for the latest updates.
“We are deeply grateful for the pouring of support from our community. We want everyone to know that we are actively working on this and are exploring all the options available.”
The group also works with friends in Vegas in Rescue Garden, small animal adoption of Wee Companion in San Diego and guinea pig rescue.
During a visit Thursday, SCGPR said the group discovered:
The animal that died in the facility. A wide range of medical issues such as caterpillars, head tilt, tumors, open wounds, and hair loss. Overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions; countless pregnant women and newborn babies. A limited meal at Cornhusk. Insufficient water sources, such as a single bottle for 80-100 animals.
Despite already operating at full capacity, the rescue group removed 33 guinea pigs and prioritized the most vulnerable animals: pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, young babies and visible health conditions. These animals are currently undergoing emergency care.
SCGPR said they were told the animals were left in the previous tenant.
“They moved and left behind a fairly large group of people that I already understand, and that group continued to breed out of control over the last few months,” Warren said. “…it felt like the residence was trying to make the most of these animals’ abilities.”
“Female guinea pigs can be kept immediately after birth, and male and female babies need to be separated between 3 and 4 weeks of age. “It’s a vicious cycle that can quickly become uncontrollable. When we were on the premises on Thursday night, we saw breeding happening right in front of our eyes.”
The rescue group also said it was disappointed with the response from the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services.
” Given that our rescue team first hand witnessed the severity of the situation, the LA Animal Services statement is deeply troubling and opposed to animal welfare standards and the rescue missions shared by the organization,” the SCGPR said. “We are said that animal services may return to property next week and attempt to remove the remaining animals, but representatives of animal service also say they don’t have the resources to accommodate this number of guinea pigs.”
Attempts to contact Lars officials for comments were not immediately successful on Saturday.
The group is asking the public to develop or recruit rescues, and is also accepting donations to support the medical and supplies of the 33 guinea pigs already employed.
Rescuing fellows in other areas is also being asked to assist in intake and placement.
SCGPR can be accessed by email at socalguineapigrescue.org or by email at socalguineapigrescue@gmail.com. Rescue Garden is located at thereescuegarden@gmail.com. Wee Companions can be found at weecompanions.org or at weecompanions@aol.com. Vegas Friends of Gunea Pigs Rescue can be found at vegasfriendsofgprescue.org/ or vegasfriendsofgp@gmail.com.
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