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3rd Pet Store Owner Pleads Guilty To Animal Cruelty Charges

By Rick Sallinger

THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) - The third of three family members who run a pet store has now pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges. They are the owners of two shops that feature what it calls exotic pets.

Last year Thornton police searched and seized snakes, lizards, rodents and more from Jurassic Pets in Thornton. It came after the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals infiltrated the stores taking jobs as employees and volunteers. They took video which purports to show rodents being beaten.

Pet Store
(credit: CBS)

One employee can be heard saying, "After you whack them a few times sometimes they don't fully go (die),"

Another person is heard stating, "So you're just trying to break his neck right now, or?"

"Yeah," the employee replied.

Dan Paden is with PETA. He told CBS4's Rick Sallinger via Skype, "They were beating these animals against their arms, against the wall, against the floor; and often times it took more than one blow to finally actually kill these animals."

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(credit: YouTube)
JURASSIC PETS PLEA 5PKG.t=ransfer
(credit: YouTube)
JURASSIC PETS PLEA 5PKG.tansfer
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One python was claimed to have a respiratory infection and a rat had a neurological disorder. Rats and mice were shown drowned at what was described as an Adams County breeding farm. One rat was so disfigured after an apparent attack CBS4 chose not to show it.

"They were freezing unwanted animals alive. They were trying to use blunt trauma to kill rats and mice to be sold as food for snakes," Paden said.

Lynn Denise Kubic, one of the owners has now pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of animal cruelty. Two other family members were convicted previously. Lynne Kubic's husband Kenneth Mark Kubic was convicted in May on 18 cruelty to animals counts and their son Brian Kubic pleaded guilty in April.

Lynn Kubic
Lynn Kubic in court on April 6, 2015 (credit: CBS)

The stores remain open. When Sallinger went to the Thornton store and asked to hear if there was another side to the story he was told there would be no comment.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture says now that the convictions have taken place it can move forward with procedures to determine if Jurassic Pets' license should be revoked.

CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.

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