Tennessee: Tip leads to over 350 animals being seized from South Nashville home

TENNESSEE -- Metro Animal Care and Control seized hundreds of birds, chickens and rabbits from a home in South Nashville over the weekend.

In total, 368 animals, including 111 rabbits, 158 quail, 52 pigeons and 27 chickens, were taken after MACC received a tip last Wednesday.

At the home, investigators found hundreds of animals, many of which they say were living in abysmal conditions.

“Unfortunately, we found animals housed in overcrowded coops and cleanliness issues and animals not being appropriately cared for and we also witnesses several deceased animals on property as well,” Rebecca Morris with Metro Animal Control said.

Officials said there were nearly 20 dead animals that were removed from the home as well.

“The animals passed away because of failure to provide vet care,” Morris said, adding, “This was a residential suburb with animals being house on less than a fourth acre lot.”

According to investigators, the family who owned the animals were slaughtering them and using them for meat to eat.

“The family shares with us he was raising the animals for meat – that is legal, perfectly ok, but you do have to provide humane care for the animals while they are in your care,” Morris said.

Metro Animal Control said the owner signed the remaining animals over to the agency.

“He did select to sign the animals over to us, and now it is our job to care for them and find safe placement for them,” Morris explained.

News 2 went to the home where Metro Codes was speaking to the man’s wife about vehicles parked in the front yard.

The woman, who does not speak English well, said through a neighbor, that she would prefer not to comment.

“She said I don’t want to say anything. My husband is not here and I don’t’ want to say anything unless he’s here,” the neighbor said on her behalf.

The owner of the animals has not been cited, but charges are possible.

The rescued animals will be placed with various agencies and the healthy rabbits will go with a national operation out of Roanoke, Virginia.

(WKRN - April 3, 2017)

Florida: Carlos Garcia, 50, arrested on felony charge for killing hawk

FLORIDA -- An Orange County man told wildlife officials he killed a federally protected hawk because it was attacking his racing pigeons.

Carlos Garcia, 50, was taken into custody Thursday and is charged killing a protected species.

   

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said crews went to Garcia’s home in the Bithlo area on Jan. 21 after a neighbor said he saw Garcia shoot a hawk with a shotgun.

Wildlife officials said Garcia admitted to them that he used a .410 gauge shotgun to kill the hawk while it was sitting in a tree near his house.

 

Garcia handed over the gun to wildlife officials and led them to where he had dumped the birds' body inside a plastic bag, officials said.

Wildlife officials said the hawk was a red-shouldered hawk, which is a federally protected bird of prey.

People dealing with wildlife and pet issues are asked to contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at: 352-732-1225 or 888-404-3922.

ARREST INFO:
Full Name: Carlos Garcia
Gender: Male
City: Bithlo, Florida
Arrest Age:50
Date:03/23/2017
Arresting Agency: ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE
Charges
#1 KILLING OR WOUNDING PROTECTED SPECIES
STATUTE: 379.411 (THIRD DEGREE FELONY)

(WESH - March 24, 2017)

New York: Animal control officers discover 350 pigeons in filthy home with floors covered in TWO FEET of droppings

NEW YORK -- A 68-year-old North Merrick man turned his two-story, red brick home into a concentration camp for pigeons, confining an estimated 300 to 400 pigeons to suffer and die within his house, according to officials.

“When you walked up, you could smell it,” said Gary Rogers, a spokesman for the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who was on the scene Thursday morning.

 

Acting on a tip by the Town of Hempstead Building Department, the SPCA and Nassau County police executed a search warrant at 9 a.m. on the home, at the corner of Abbot and Bangs avenues in the Campgrounds section of North Merrick, just off Merrick Avenue.

Inside, Rogers said, investigators found more than two feet of pigeon droppings and birdseed coating the floors and surfaces throughout the home. Officials wore protective suits and respirators to enter the house.

 

At 11:10 a.m., police called PSEG to shut down power to the home, fearing that an electrical spark could ignite a “dust explosion” inside the house.

The home was shaded by a thick cover of oak and maple trees and a hedge measuring seven to eight feet high out front. A burned-out Jeep Cherokee sat on the edge of the property, and rusted-out lawnmowers and propane tanks filled the backyard.


SPCA officials spent two and a half hours rounding up the pigeons, catching them with nets and loading them into plastic crates. The birds will be sent to a pigeon keeper with 45 years of experience raising the creatures. They will be evaluated for potential health concerns, after which their long-term fate will be determined, Rogers said. A SPCA veterinarian was on site checking the pigeons.

The birds, Rogers emphasized, will not be released to the wild.

  

The homeowner was taken to Nassau University Medical Center for evaluation and treatment. He appeared to suffer from health issues, Rogers said, adding, “Like any collector of animals like this, he got himself in over his [head].” Rogers declined to give his name.

A SPCA official was injured when he fell and struck his head. He was taken to NUMC for evaluation.

The homeowner will be referred to Nassau County social services. “We’d really like to go in and help these people,” Rogers said. It was too early to tell whether the homeowner would face criminal charges, he said.

Rogers said people should not be afraid to contact the SPCA when they suspect animal cruelty. Since June, the SPCA has rescued more than 850 animals of all kinds from homes in Nassau.

 

Around 12:30 p.m., workers started boarding up the home’s windows. It was unclear what would become of the residence.

“The house is unlivable,” Rogers said.

(Long Island Herald - Sept 15 2016)

Oklahoma: Senator Inhofe and his ilk think it's fun to shoot animals and then leave them to suffer FOR DAYS until they finally die

OKLAHOMA -- An annual fundraiser has some people outraged about the event.

On Friday, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe held an annual pigeon shoot fundraiser where volunteers throw pigeons from a cage into the air to be shot by people attending the fundraiser.

  

“There's hunting with a hunting code, hunting ethics, where you hunt an animal, use the animal, you eat the animal. Those hunters have respect for the animal in their own way,” Steve Hindi, with SHARK, told NewsChannel 4.

Animal activists are angry, saying the pigeons were simply shot for sport and left to die.

 

“It's not part of hunting, they're not going to be eaten and it`s neglect to have these live wounded pigeons suffering without food water, medical attention or shelter,” Hindi said.

Hundreds of pigeons were shot during the fundraiser, and some died while others were left to suffer where they fell.

"It's just sad that somebody is using live animals to kill for fun, to maim for fun as a fundraiser,” Rondi Large, of the WildCare Foundation, said. “ It's appalling."

 

 

Advocates managed to load up about 28 birds and bring them to Wildcare, a place that takes in wild animals, cares for them and then releases them back into the wild.

"If you were shot three days earlier, of course you'd be suffering,” Large said. “They were dehydrated. Infection has been setting in on some of these guys because they have open wounds. Gunshot wounds for three days out there without any sort of care. That's totally inhumane."

Six of the pigeons didn't make it.

 

 

"See how it's all fractured in here, and that's from being shot,” Large said. "The feather that's hanging down has been broken."

It is the case with most of the pigeons that showed up at WildCare late Sunday night.

"You can see this area here of his wing is very swollen and very bloody and red, and this was shot on Friday,” Large said.

It is not against the law, but some believe it is against what's right.

"They are not a bird that is covered by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act,” Large said. “So, unfortunately, it's not against the law from the treaty act to do what was done to these birds, but it's obviously animal cruelty."

Senator Inhofe’s office released this statement in response:

“KFOR would like to talk about this pigeon shoot while Senator Inhofe is working to pass in the Senate this week a bill that will solidify the historic settlement on water rights in central and southeastern Oklahoma to the benefit of the State, Oklahoma City, and Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations, which will ensure drinking water supplies and recreation for Oklahomans well into the future with recognizing cultural claims on Oklahoma's lakes among other regulatory reforms benefiting Oklahoma and the country.”

While KFOR was waiting for a response from Inhofe's office, Donelle Harder, a member of the Inhofe team took to Twitter to mock KFOR for reporting the story of horrific animal cruelty.

Donelle Harder sounds like a lovely human being - not. I'd hate to see what she says to her children when they cry after seeing those sad humane society commercials they run on the weekends. 

D Harder @HarderRambles
.@kfor asked me if what I was saying is that we don't care for pigeons. I kindly explain that our priorities are different than KFOR's.
4:04 PM - 12 Sep 2016

D Harder @HarderRambles
.@KFOR is worried about a dead pigeon while Inhofe is working today to pass legislation to protect 10,000 Oklahoma residence from flooding.
4:06 PM - 12 Sep 2016

D Harder @HarderRambles
.@KFOR is worried about a dead pigeon. Meanwhile, Inhofe is moving bill in Senate to help SWOK w/water storage to prepare 4 future droughts
4:19 PM - 12 Sep 2016

D Harder @HarderRambles
.@kfor demands answer for 5 pigeons being euthanized. In other news, Inhofe will soon pass bill to fix this for OKC: Inhofe Pledges To Fast-Track Oklahoma’s Tribal Water Deal Through Congress
4:08 PM - 12 Sep 2016

D Harder @HarderRambles
GASP. @kfor - How many pigeons does the state euthanizes a year w/ gas?
4:13 PM - 12 Sep 2016

Hey, Donelle. The USA euthanizes millions of cats and dogs each year due to lack of good homes, but we don't excuse animal cruelty because of it. You are a horrible, horrible excuse for a human being. 

 

(KFOR - Sept 12, 2016)

Earlier:

• Pennsylvanians Support Pigeon Shoot Ban

Pennsylvania: Teen charged with animal cruelty after being videotaped abusing injured and dying pigeons

PENNSYLVANIA -- A teenager hired to humanely kill birds injured by hunters at the Philadelphia Gun Club has been charged with animal cruelty after an animal-rights activist filmed him last month throwing injured pigeons and pelting them with rocks and ice.

The boy, 17, of Bridgeton, N.J., was working for a subcontractor hired by the riverside club in Bensalem to retrieve and euthanize birds wounded during a Jan. 30 pigeon shoot, Bensalem Police Lt. William McVey said. His name wasn't released because he is a juvenile.

Activists from SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness) have long protested the semiannual shoots, in which hunters gun down live birds released from boxes. A SHARK activist filmed the teen chasing injured birds on the riverbank, throwing them to the ground, pelting them with rocks and ice and jabbing them with sticks in violation of state animal-cruelty laws.

"The shoots are legal in Pennsylvania, so there's nothing we can do about that. Our concern is the treatment of the animal once it is shot, to make sure it's (euthanasia) done as humanely and swiftly as possible," McVey said. "In this case, it crossed the line."

Thrown into the back of a truck, like garbage

While SHARK activists were happy the teen was identified and charged, they accused the club of trying to mislead authorities by initially claiming the bird-basher was a heartless trespasser who wandered onto club grounds.

When shown the video, they LIED and said they didn't know who the person was in the video. However, later the same boy was seen walking through the entrance to the club and they admitted to police they had LIED to protect the animal abusing future serial killer.

This video from 2013 shows the disgusting cruelty:

"In the end the truth came out," SHARK President Steve Hindi said. "We believe it is important that this person be prosecuted not just for the cruelty to animals, but also because someone who causes such pain and suffering to animals may also pose a danger to people as well. That's why the FBI created an animal abuse database."

This shot pigeon landed on a roof, still alive

But Sean M. Corr, an attorney who represents the club, said: "The Philadelphia Gun Club cooperated with the police and does not believe the individual would have been apprehended without our cooperation."

Christopher Markos, an attorney for SHARK, said the teen's behavior may violate the terms of a federal lawsuit the club and SHARK settled last month, in which the club agreed to humanely kill injured birds.



"SHARK is pleased to see the animal cruelty statute enforced, but troubled that this was allowed to occur in the first place," Markos said. "It shows that whatever steps the gun club has taken up until now to keep its promise have been inadequate, so the Bensalem Police Department's decision to file charges doesn't satisfy SHARK's concern that future shoots held at the gun club also won't comply with the agreement. Right now, SHARK is exploring their options in pursuing an appropriate remedy, including returning to court."

Corr declined to address that issue, saying such debate belongs in court.

Pennsylvania is the only state to still allow live pigeon shooting, according to the Humane Society of the United States. Bills that would prohibit them have been repeatedly introduced - and shot down - in the state legislature since 1989.

(Philly.com - Feb 25, 2016)

Earlier:

• Pennsylvanians Support Pigeon Shoot Ban

Shot and dying, this pigeon fell onto the rocks

More than 70 percent of all birds are wounded, according to data compiled by the Humane Society of the United States.

If they fall onto the shooting range, teenagers take the birds, wring their necks or use scissors to cut their heads off, and stuff them into barrels. Even if the birds survive strangulation, they will die from their wounds and from suffocation.

If the wounded birds manage to fly outside the shooting range, most will die a lingering and painful death.

The juveniles-disguised-as-adults consider the birds litter, and don't pick them up if they fall outside the shooting range.

Pennsylvania's shame

Texas: Trial underway for Brent Justice, accused of creating horrific videos showing animals tortured to death

TEXAS -- The trial for a man accused of torturing and killing a puppy began Monday in Harris County.

Brent Justice and Ashley Richards were charged in 2012 with animal cruelty after they allegedly used a meat cleaver to cut off a pit bull puppy’s tail, slice its leg and slash its neck. The puppy died as a result.

Brent Justice

The gruesome death was reportedly videotaped and posted online to make money. Investigators said the videos are called crush videos. Crush videos show an animal being tortured, often crushed, to satisfy the viewer’s sexual appetite.

Justice and Richards created as many as 27 'crush' videos between February 2010 and August 2012 and was eventually stopped after PETA discovered the footage and alerted the authorities.

After her arrest in 2012, prosecutors said Richards tortured a puppy, kittens, a rabbit, mice, a pigeon, fish, lobsters and crabs using high heeled shoes, a meat cleaver, knives, screwdrivers and pliers.

She allegedly killed a cat by slitting its throat and stomping its eye with her shoe heel.

Richards pleaded guilty to creating the video at the federal level and has a sentencing trial set for Feb. 25.

 

Ashley Richards 

She also pleaded guilty to the animal cruelty charge and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Justice is acting as his own attorney in the Harris County trial.

(KHOU - Feb 8, 2016)

Earlier:

• Houston pair charged with torturing, killing puppy
• Monster sentenced to 10 years in prison for torturing animals to death in sexually perverted videos

Thomas Knox stole and tortured 200 rare birds and stuffed carcasses into mailboxes

UNITED KINGDOM -- A teenager who tortured more than 200 rare birds before posting the carcasses through people's letterboxes with a grin has been jailed for six months.

Thomas Knox, 19, squeezed, kicked and battered the birds to death after stealing them from a life-long collector's aviary in Brownhills, West Midlands.

  

CCTV footage shows the teenager arrive with three others at a block of flats in Walsall, with bags and boxes containing the dead and alive animals, including doves and rare jays and quails.

The video shows him grinning as the gang then post the birds through resident's letterboxes and force them through 'barely open' living room windows.

One shocking image shows one of the vile yobs kick a bird across the hallway while others were jammed into drawers and even chased by a dog.

On Wednesday Knox, from Bloxwich, appeared via video-link at Walsall Magistrates Court and was jailed for six months.

He was also ordered to pay £350 compensation and £80 victim surcharge.

Chairman of the bench, Bob Thomas, described the case as the 'most disturbing' he had ever seen.

He added: 'The animals must have suffered significant distress. Your trial was one of the most disturbing I have ever had the misfortune to sit in.'

Mr Thomas also cirticised Knox for spending most of the trial giggling with his co-accused in the dock.

The court heard Knox went along to the flats with pals Jake Higgs, 23, Chad Worgan, 19, and a 16-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons.

They had earlier bundled the birds into sacks and containers after stealing them from a collectors house in Brownhills, West Midlands.

Owner Lee Williams, 43, who spent his life collecting rare jays, finches, budgerigars, doves, quails and pigeons, was 'devastated' after the yobs only left one bird alive.

Maggie Meakin, prosecuting, said it would cost £1,500 to replace the birds, and added: 'He cannot afford to replace the birds and he cannot claim on the insurance.'

Knox was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, receiving stolen goods, common assault and using threatening words or behavior.

The latter charges related to his behavior towards a dog warden and housing staff when he was told his dog was going to be taken away.

Vaughn Whistance, defending, said Knox was a vulnerable young man who suffered with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism.

He added: 'He has been greatly influenced by the behavior of others.'

Co-accused Higgs from Mossley, West Midlands, was also due to learn his fate on Wednesday but failed to show up and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Worgan, from Goscote, Walsall, was jailed for six months last Friday for his role in the act of animal cruelty.

The other defendant, 16-year-old boy, was given an 18-month rehabilitation order.

(Daily Mail - May 14, 2015)

California: Vallejo police suspect animal cruelty in pigeons' death

CALIFORNIA -- About 20 pigeons were killed by the driver of a blue van in the parking lot of the Vallejo public boat launch Sunday afternoon, in what Vallejo police say appears to be a deliberate act of animal cruelty.

A woman who regularly feeds birds had started feeding pigeons in the area, near the former Brinkman’s Marine business, when a van parked in the lot drove through the flock of birds, killing at least 20.

Vallejo police Lt. Kevin Bartlett stated that due to the suddenness of the action, they have no suspect description other than that of the van.

Local bird rescue and animal control agencies have been contacted for custody and treatment of about five surviving birds.

(Vallejo Times Herald - Feb 9, 2015)

Monster sentenced to 10 years in prison for torturing animals to death in sexually perverted videos

TEXAS -- A 23-year-old woman has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars for torturing dogs and cats to death to make videos for people who found the sick treatment sexually arousing.

Ashley Nichole Richards pleaded guilty to three counts of animal cruelty in Houston, Texas, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson announced on Thursday morning.

She created as many as 27 'crush' videos between February 2010 and August 2012 and was eventually stopped after PETA discovered the footage and alerted the authorities.

After her arrest in 2012, prosecutors said she tortured a puppy, kittens, a rabbit, mice, a pigeon, fish, lobsters and crabs using high heeled shoes, a meat cleaver, knives, screwdrivers and pliers.

A graphic statement from PETA at the time revealed that she had often killed up to two animals a day, including a kitten who was bound with masking tape before being stomped on with a high heel that went into its eye.

Another video shows her using a meat cleaver to cut off a puppy's leg, PETA said.

She allegedly filmed the videos with the help of Brent Justice, 52, who is also charged with animal cruelty.

They would then give the videos to people who were sexually aroused by the treatment, prosecutors said, the Houston Chronicle reported.

'When a person tortures and kills an animal, that raises a red flag about that person’s capacity for violent behavior in general,' District Attorney Devon Anderson said, News92 reported.

'It will always be a priority for our office to aggressively prosecute offenders who abuse animals.'

The case is the first time anyone has been prosecuted for 'crush' videos in Harris County.

'While we are satisfied that the defendant received the maximum penalty in these cases,' Anderson said. 'We will fight at the next legislative session to increase the punishment range for this offense to better protect these animals and all citizens of Harris County.'

Stephanie Bell from PETA added: 'Given the undeniable link between cruelty to animals and interpersonal violence, the community at large is safer when convicted abusers such as Richards are behind bars.'

Some charges in the case were dismissed last year because a federal judge dismissed the statue as overbroad and a violation of their First Amendment rights. Four months later, prosecutors filed an appeal.

'As with child pornography, it is necessary to dry up the market in animal crush videos, which have little if any social value, in order to effectively prevent the criminal acts that necessarily occur when the videos are produced,' prosecutors had claimed, the Houston Press reported last year.

Justice is being held in the Harris County jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

(Daily Mail - May 29, 2014)

Earlier:

• Houston pair charged with torturing, killing puppy