An Ohio chinchilla breeder agreed to surrender about 1,100 animals and permanently stop work regulated by the Animal Welfare Act under a chinchilla breeder consent decree the Justice Department announced on Nov. 3. The USDA also permanently revoked his license.
The government says the breeder told inspectors he kept 300 to 450 animals while about 800 more sat in a separate building. With roughly 1,100 animals in all, the actual number ran two and a half to nearly four times what inspectors were told, a calculation from the release’s figures.
What Inspectors Found at R & R Chinchilla
The case is U.S. v. R & R Chinchilla in the Northern District of Ohio, No. 3:26-cv01990. The business is in Jenera, Ohio, and its president is James F. Ritterspach, according to the release. The government says he had bred chinchillas for more than 40 years.
USDA inspectors made 18 inspections since September 2022 and cited 59 violations over four years, about three per inspection, a calculation from the release. They inspected the separate building on Aug. 5. The release says inspectors described it as “in worse condition than any facility they had ever inspected.”
The government’s complaint describes animals with eyes so swollen and oozing that they could not open them, fecal material covering the floor of hundreds of enclosures and ammonia levels high enough to force inspectors out of the building. It also describes open packets of rat poison next to enclosures and a metal collar embedded in an animal’s neck. It alleges Ritterspach pulled a hair mat off a chinchilla while holding the animal by the tail and misrepresented how many animals he had.
How the Court Case Moved
The government sought a temporary restraining order on Aug. 20, and the court granted it Aug. 21. About 800 chinchillas went to animal welfare organizations before the consent decree. The decree requires Ritterspach to give up the more than 300 that remain. The case moved from the Aug. 5 inspection to a final agreement in under three months, a calculation from the release’s dates. The USDA had warned the business in 2024 and suspended its license twice on a summary basis, the release says.
What the Decree Requires
The decree bars Ritterspach permanently from activity regulated by the Animal Welfare Act. The release describes the underlying claims as the government’s allegations, which the consent decree resolves without a trial.
