Former 7UP bottling co employee Larry Ottaviani
SACRAMENTO, CA - After firing one of their Sacramento employees for feeding feral cats, 7UP is being questioned for what they've been doing with the cats.
Employee Larry Ottaviani had been feeding and caring for stray cats at the 7UP facility on Land Avenue for years. He continued even after he was told many times to stop.
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7UP fired him in early January.
"We have taken several measures to ensure our production facility is safe and meets all FDA guidelines," 7UP said in a statement. "We installed traps around our building entrances. Once the animals are captured, we take them to the Rio Linda Animal Reserve area to release them into their natural habitat."
City of Sacramento Animal Care Services spokesperson Gina Knepp was unable to locate any animal reserve in the Rio Linda area. She and many others are now suspicious.
Knepp said trapping cats that you believe are a nuisance and relocating them to a animal shelter is not a crime, but "trapping cats and driving them across town and dumping them in a field is a crime."
Tuesday night, 7UP's spokesman said they were looking into the issue and that they're working with the SPCA to find a solution.
By Suzanne Phan, sphan@news10.net
Twitter: @SuzannePhan
News10/KXTV