RCMP bust inhumane balloon animal mill - The Beaverton

RCMP bust inhumane balloon animal mill

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A southern Alberta balloon animal mill has been slammed with dozens of charges under the provincial Balloon Animal Care Act for its inhumane treatment of balloon animals.

Following a tip from PETBA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Balloon Animals) the were called in to investigate. They found several thousand balloon animals living in cramped conditions, many lacking access to air or helium pumps.

Cruelty investigators are describing the scene as “highly disturbing” and the result of “some really fucked up clowns.”

“There were dead and dying balloon animals everywhere you looked,” RCMP special constable Rick Rowson told reporters. “I picked up a little balloon pig, and could feel it deflating in my hands. They were piled into cages, all motionless and silent except for the constant sound of popping due to the wire floors. The whole scene was just awful.”

According to the RCMP’s report, over 3000 balloon animals – ranging from chickens, pigs, monkeys, crocodiles, and dogs of many different colours – were found during the bust.

Added Rowson: “One sick clown had drawn on smiley faces, but you could still tell they were suffering.”

balloonrescue268px
A member of Balloon Animal Liberation Front helps rescue a balloon giraffe

Veterinarians specializing in balloon animal care were able to rescue a small proportion of those that had maintained adequate air pressure, but many had to be removed from the factory and killed. RCMP staff spent much of the afternoon providing lethal dejection for the balloon animals with little chance of survival.

Several clowns and two RCMP officers were also killed during the bust.

Responding to the investigation, PETBA spokesperson Adele Lee said that such cases are common, and increased awareness of balloon animal mistreatment is necessary.

“Generally, balloon animals face physical abuse and neglect from farmers who are only interested in making a profit. If one appears to be diseased and losing air, the farmer will quickly cull the balloon animal by whacking it with a blunt object, such as a large stick.”

Lee also spoke out against the use of balloon animals as hats and decorations at children’s birthday parties, drilling the organization’s slogan of, “Your mommy kills balloon animals.”

“Some of these hats are three or four colors,” Lee said. “That’s three or four animals that need to be killed for a few inches of latex. Often the rest is just thrown away.”

Balloon animal specialists worry that the trend of corporate farms replacing family-owned balloon animal farms will reduce balloonodiversity as some colors become more heavily favoured than others by consumers.

Balloonologists predict that in less than ten years there could be a monoculture of red balloon dogs.