Ernesto Rodriguez, 36, of East Hartford, has been charged with animal cruelty and breach of peace, and ordered held on $2,500 bail. He is due back in court October 16.
The suspect purchased the animal from the Middlesex Livestock Auction Monday morning. A passerby then recorded Rodriguez shoving the goat into his trunk and driving home about 30 minutes away.
State police received a call from the witness, who showed them the footage allegedly depicting the abuse.
According to Sgt Salvatore Calvo, the Good Samaritan confronted Rodriguez and words were exchanged, prompting the unnamed witness to write down the suspect's license plate number and turn it over to police along with the video recording, Hartford Courant reported.
The short clip obtained by NBC Connecticut shows a white pygmy goat being picked up by the head and rear by a man in a gray shirt with his back to the camera and then shoved into the trunk.
Officers quickly tracked down Rodriguez to his home on Stanley Street in East Hartford and took him into custody.
When they searched the 36-year-old’s car, officers also discovered five live chickens inside crates stored in the trunk.
Investigators are not sure what exactly the man was planning to do with the animals, but they believe the suspect either intended to kill and eat them, or use them in religious rituals.
Lisa Scirpo, who owns the Middlesex Livestock Auction, was outraged to hear of the animals' treatment at the hands of her customer.
'Even if the animals’ destiny is to be killed, nothing should suffer to that point,' she told the station.
The goat and the chickens survived the ordeal and are said to be in good condition. It remains unknown how many hours they had spent locked in the back of the car.
The barnyard critters were later turned over to the state Department of Agriculture, which then placed the goat and the birds in its animal rescue center.
(Daily Mail - Oct 2, 2013)
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