Written by Jeff Mackey
In August 2012, PETA was contacted by a whistleblower who had been volunteering for several months as an animal care assistant for a licensed wildlife rehabilitator operating out of her Florida home. Cruelty Investigations Department staffers urged the whistleblower to document her report that ill, injured, and orphaned wild animals taken into the home were living in utter squalor and that the rehabilitator left animals to languish without food or water.
The shocking conditions depicted in footage taken by the whistleblower over the course of three weeks included the following:
PETA alerted state and federal wildlife officials, sparking an investigation whose findings corroborated the whistleblower's reports and led to the confiscation of numerous suffering turtles, tortoises, and birds.
With PETA pushing for action, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission filed 23 charges against the rehabber for animal neglect, improper animal housing, and unsanitary conditions. The state attorney's office also charged her with one count of maintaining wildlife in unsanitary conditions.
Following a plea bargain, the woman ceased the pretense of rehabilitating animals, and the survivors were removed from her care for release back into the wild or transfer to other facilities better equipped to meet their needs.
Even well-meaning animal rescuers can become overwhelmed. Worse, many out-of-control hoarders use rescue as a pretext, causing massive suffering for the animals who fall into their hands. If you become aware of animals suffering in a supposed rescue or rehab facility, please document conditions with a camera or camera phone and report the perpetrators to local authorities.
With so many out-of-control hoarders claiming to be animal rescuers, "rescue" has become a buzzword to beware of—especially when combined with irresponsible "no-kill" promises. The strength of their compulsion also makes it vital that, when convicted, hoarders be stopped from possessing any animals in the future in order to break the cycle of abuse.
The latest reminder comes from Alabama, where Sharlotte Marie Adams, the operator of Animal Aid and Rescue Resources Inc., and her husband were arrested after a complaint was filed alleging misuse of funds and other donations to the "organization." When police searched the Adamses' home, site of the purported rescue, they reportedly discovered atrocious conditions. Andalusia Animal Shelter Director Christin Ball, whose staff is rehabilitating and housing some of the seized animals, said this about their condition:
They were all sick. There's one that we're not sure if he's going to make it or not. They've had no care whatsoever. It's sad. She claimed she'd taken them to the vet, but no one had.
Law-enforcement officials suspect that Adams exploited people's "generosity by using cash donations – solicited under the guise of treating sick animals – to pay for personal items such as electric bills and groceries for the family."
The couple was reportedly booked on charges of theft, endangering the welfare of a child, and cruelty to animals. But while police may have been shocked by what they found inside the house, PETA's investigations often reveal nightmarish conditions at many so-called "rescue" facilities, such as Caboodle Ranch and Sacred Vision. And, as in those cases, it will be critical to seek a prohibition on animal ownership as part of the penalty if the Adamses are convicted.
What You Can Do
If you learn of any hoarding case—whether posing as a rescue or not—please contact the prosecuting agency and/or attorney's office to ensure that any sentence or plea bargain include a clause forbidding the hoarder from owning or possessing animals.
Written by Michelle Kretzer
Confined to barren, muddy pens with no protection from the elements, no food, and no water, the nearly 70 dogs owned by Cajun Country "Ranch and Animal Rescue" in Wilburton, Oklahoma, were struggling to survive. Their skin was stretched tightly over their rib cages, and fleas and ticks had ravaged their bodies. The horses on the property fared no better, their bones clearly visible. The bones of dead dogs lay piled up like leaves, and more bones were scattered throughout the property.
When PETA received a tip-off, we alerted local officials, who told us that they shared our concerns. One of our contacts in the area was an expert on hoarding situations, and after he surveyed the property for us, he confirmed our fears about the "rescue."
The next day, armed with a warrant, police raided the property and arrested the owners, Anne Marie and Shane Duhon. According to news reports when police entered the couple's home, they found three children living in squalor. Animal feces covered the house, including the children's beds, and cockroaches crawled across the littered floor. Reportedly, the children were covered with bites from fleas, ticks, and other insects. While the Department of Human Services took the children to a safe location, a multitude of volunteers, mobilized by PETA supporters in the area, came in with horse trailers and kennels and moved all the animals to awaiting reputable rescues and animal shelters.
Some of the animals were so far gone that they needed to be euthanized. At trial, the Duhons pleaded guilty to child neglect and cruelty-to-animals charges. They were put on probation for five years, banned from having any animals during that time, and told that if they violated the terms of their probation, they could face prison time.
While animal hoarding behavior stems from a desire to "save" animals, hoarders' mental illness causes them to keep amassing animals, and well-meaning people encourage hoarders by giving them animals and/or money. They end up with far more animals than they are capable of caring for—with disastrous, deadly consequences for their victims. If you suspect that a local "rescue" is actually a hoarder, alert animal control or PETA immediately.
It's taken a few weeks and no small amount of TLC, but the rabbits who were rescued from a hoarder's facility, Bunny Magic Wildlife & Rabbit Rescue, Inc., are healthier, stronger, and ready to meet families who will love and care for them forever.
© Kencredible
When authorities raided the so-called "sanctuary" based on evidence gathered by PETA, they rescued 222 rabbits packed inside owner Carole Van Wie's filthy garage and home, where ammonia fumes were so strong that responders had to put on masks.
Van Wie kept rabbits stacked in cages one on top of the other, amid their accumulated urine and feces. She hadn't provided sick rabbits with veterinary care, and she had left contagious animals with those not yet obviously sick. Some rabbits' nails were so overgrown that they caught on the wire bars of the cages, and many were infested with fleas. Authorities found at least one rabbit dead inside a cage.
But now, with their traumatic ordeal behind them, the Bunny Magic rabbits are ready to go home for good—with families who are willing to give them the specialized care that rabbits require.
If you are ready to make a lifetime commitment to an animal and can give one (or better yet, a spayed and neutered couple) of these rabbits all the love and care that they deserve, you can apply to adopt one from the Tri-County Animal Shelter, in Hughesville, Maryland, by calling 301-932-1713 between the hours of 12 noon and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Written by PETA
In a huge victory for animals, Judge Greg Parker of Florida's 3rd Judicial Circuit has ordered that Caboodle Ranch not get back any of the animals who were seized following a PETA undercover investigation. Just as importantly, Judge Parker ruled that Caboodle cannot possess or have custody of any live animals!
The ruling comes after three days of evidence presented by both the Madison County attorney and Caboodle's attorney. Judge Parker noted that Caboodle never adequately explained why it informed county officials that it had 400 animals when more than 600 were seized—fewer than 200 of whom had veterinary records. The judge observed that numerous lethargic animals, laboring to breathe, were found in desperate need of veterinary care in a deteriorated building among blood- and mucus-smeared windows; that there was a "noxious" odor; and that similarly sick animals were found across the property. In other words, the court described a reality at Caboodle starkly similar to that documented by PETA's investigator.
Judge Parker ruled that the evidence indicated "clearly and convincingly" that the animals were not receiving proper care and concluded that Caboodle "is not able and fit to have custody of the animals."
The animals—who have been cared for in a temporary shelter and finally given the veterinary care that they so desperately needed and the compassion that they always deserved, have been turned over to the custody of the Madison County Sheriff's Office (MCSO).
We want to thank the Madison County Animal Control Department, the MCSO, and the 3rd Judicial District of Florida State Attorney's Office for pursuing this case with the seriousness that it deserves. We're also grateful to the many humane agencies and responders who have labored tirelessly for months to care for these animals and give them a clean, safe place to stay. Let's hope that once they recover, they will find happiness with responsible families who will give them all the love and attention that they need and deserve.
Cruelty-to-animals charges based on PETA's evidence—including a felony count for the neglect of one cat, Lilly—are still pending against Caboodle founder and operator Craig Grant. Grant and Caboodle continue to ask the public for donations, including money to defend Grant against a felony charge of scheming to defraud those who already gave him money!
Please urge the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to end this by canceling Caboodle's registration to solicit contributions.
A measure of justice has been served in South Carolina, where, following PETA's undercover investigation, the woman who fatally neglected cats at the now-thankfully defunct Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary (SVAS) outside Myrtle Beach was convicted of violating a county animal-care ordinance this morning before Magistrate Margie Bellamy Livingston. Elizabeth Owen, who didn't even bother to show up but instead submitted her plea in writing, was fined $500 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, but both were suspended.
In March 2011, a Horry County judge ordered the seizure of a dog and approximately 240 cats from Owen—many of whom were suffering from painful conditions, such as anal maggots, herpes, tumors, seizures, abdominal abscesses, and severe gum disease. Nearly half of the animals had to be euthanized to alleviate their suffering.
County officials returned the dog and 30 cats to Owen. And then it got worse: County officials did not make good on promises to check on those animals' welfare. Meanwhile, Owen left the state—in violation of her bond, according to a prosecutor—and evidently took those animals with her. Although PETA's investigatory evidence was passed between four attorneys in the 15th Circuit Solicitor's Office, none of them filed state cruelty-to-animals charges against Owen. No other jurisdiction has ever failed to file charges based on such strong evidence against a hoarder still in possession of animals.
As with many so-called "no-kill" operations, SVAS was merely a cover for an animal hoarder. Owen knowingly deprived suffering cats of veterinary care—even refusing offers of free emergency treatment for dying cats—and stated that she would rather let the cats die at the facility than have them taken by officials.
In a disturbing twist, just before most of her animals were seized, Owen sent approximately 25 cats to Caboodle Ranch, another horrific "no-kill" cat "sanctuary," in Florida. Based on evidence gathered in a separate PETA investigation, officials there seized nearly 700 cats and arrested and charged Caboodle's founder and operator, Craig Grant, with felony cruelty to animals.
The recidivism rate for animal hoarders like Owen is virtually 100 percent. The failure of Owen's sentence to prevent her from causing more animals to suffer and die exposes a critical weakness in South Carolina law, which lacks a commonsense provision—found in most other states' laws—prohibiting convicted cruelty offenders from owning or possessing any animals.
Craig Grant and Caboodle Ranch continue to ask the public for donations, including money to pay Grant's legal fees. Ask Florida officials to cancel Caboodle's registration to solicit contributions.
Please join PETA in calling for legislation that would enable all South Carolina courts to bar those convicted of cruelty from having animals.
A crate on a slab of concrete is no home for a dog. But 21 dogs being held by a Florida hoarder each had only a crate and a dirty piece of bedding inside a concrete-floored kennel to call home. All the dogs were filthy and unaltered and denied regular veterinary care. And their exposed outdoor kennel gave them little protection from the myriad dangers that they faced, including other animals and cruel people.
After PETA was tipped off about the hoarder, we contacted officials with the county's animal services division and urged them to convince her to do the best thing for the dogs: to surrender them. Animal services talked to the hoarder and told us that, as is often the case in hoarding situations, the woman had taken in too many dogs and quickly become overwhelmed.
She agreed to surrender the dogs, who fortunately were all still friendly and in relatively good health, even after living in such deplorable conditions. After some much-needed vet care, grooming, and spaying or neutering, every dog was relocated through animal services and local humane societies and put up for adoption.
Like people who hoard material possessions, animal hoarders usually suffer from mental illness. They fail to provide for animals' basic physical and social needs, and the animals suffer as a result. If you suspect an animal- hoarding case in your area, please alert police and animal control immediately.
Snooki sees the light, more trouble for SeaWorld, and the Oscars are starting to look a lot like a PETA gala. Here's what's going on in PETA's universe this week:
Give us five minutes, and we'll give you all the latest animal rights news on PETA's Tumblr page.
As viewers of the popular reality shows about hoarders can likely confirm, peering inside the homes of people who suffer from the psychological compulsion to collect things has a certain morbid attraction, until you realize the toll it takes on the families of the afflicted—and it's far worse when the "things" they're collecting are living, feeling beings.
Animal hoarding is a serious and growing problem, with hoarders taking on far more animals than they can properly care for. The number of reported cases is on the rise, leading the Animal Legal Defense Fund to call hoarding "the number one animal cruelty crisis facing companion animals in communities throughout the country."
Chillingly, the so-called "no kill" movement propagated by the likes of Nathan Winograd offers cover for these disturbed individuals, many of whom claim to be "rescuing" the animals and attempt to justify the suffering that they cause as a matter of principle. A Los Angeles Times blog post reported that a quarter of the roughly 6,000 new hoarding cases reported each year in the U.S. consist of supposed "shelters" and "rescues."
Animals kept in crates at a “no kill” shelter.
Even when rescues and animal shelters aren't hoarding animals themselves—like the self-proclaimed animal "hospice and rehabilitation center" called "Angel's Gate" and the now-defunct "Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary"—they all too often give away animals to anyone who will take them, including hoarders, to manipulate their euthanasia statistics, regardless of what tragedy that translates into for the animals.
Here are just a few recent examples:
The failure of "no kill" animal shelters and rescues to address the problems facing homeless animals—and often making matters worse—is why PETA remains focused on the solution to the animal overpopulation crisis: creating a no-birth nation. PETA's fleet of mobile low-cost veterinary clinics (responsible for sterilizing 10,564 animals in 2011 and almost 80,000 so far since 2001!) and our advocacy of strong spay-and-neuter legislation are key to keeping animals out of the hands of hoarders and other people who don't have their best interests at heart and guaranteeing that every animal born has a loving, permanent home awaiting him or her.
Volunteer to help your local animal shelter screen potential adopters and placement partners. Animal shelters can contact PETA for placement-partner applications and agreements. Please also be sure to spay or neuter your animal companions and encourage others to do the same—it's the best way to end the need for animal rescues altogether!
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
Authorities recently rescued 108 animals from three homes in Duncanville, Texas, where dogs and cats were found stacked in filthy, hair-encrusted, rusty cages and confined to rooms in which urine and feces coated the floors—allegedly up to a foot deep. According to news reports, the door to one room to which dogs were confined was sealed shut with industrial tape and hidden behind a curtain, and the dogs had been deprived of adequate food, water, and care.
The woman responsible for these cats and dogs was apparently busy acquiring unadoptable animals from at least one local animal shelter and running a "rescue" group.
Cases like this are common and remind us how animals suffer when people warehouse homeless dogs and cats for years—with no chance for them to run, play, or feel the grass beneath their feet—as a "solution" to quick and painless euthanasia. Animal shelters that shirk their responsibility by handing over animals to anyone who says that they'll take them—as shelters across the country are doing to make their euthanasia rates look better in the face of pressure from the irresponsible snake-oil salesmen who call themselves "no kill" supporters—share the blame for the suffering of animals at the hands of hoarders posing as "rescuers." Beware, beware, beware!
Avoiding euthanasia at all costs is not humane, and it is not a solution to the animal overpopulation crisis. Until the flood of homeless animals is stopped through spaying and neutering, euthanasia will remain a mercy for unadopted and unadoptable animals. Spaying and neutering are the keys to keeping animals out of shelters—and out of "rescues" that are worse than death.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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