Police: Irate Tacoma Man Kicks Dog So Hard, He Killed It

By KOMO Staff Published: Jan 24, 2015 at 2:03 PM PST Last Updated: Jan 24, 2015 at 3:42 PM PST

TACOMA, Wash. — Police say a 32-year-old Tacoma man became so enraged during an argument with his girlfriend that he killed his dog.

Nicholas James Tresness is facing animal cruelty charges for allegedly kicking his pet Chihuahua so hard that the dog died, according to Loretta Cool with the Tacoma Police Department.

This is not the dog killed, this is my little chihuahua Stanley ( just to show how big this breed is)

Tressness, who lives with his mom in the 8400 block of South Ainsworth Avenue, got into an argument with his girlfriend on the phone at about 6 p.m. on Friday. When he hung up the phone, he was so angry that he kicked a highchair and broke a coffee cup, according to Cool.

Tressness stormed into his room, and his pet Chihuahua, Duke, followed him. Cool said Tressness then kicked Duke hard enough to kill the dog.

When police arrived at the house, Tressness allegedly told the officers he has an anger problem and he didn’t mean to kill the dog. He was arrested and booked into Pierce County Jail for investigation of several charges, including animal cruelty.

News Link:–http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Police-Irate-Tacoma-man-kicks-dog-killing-it-289685551.html

Puppies dumped in a box outside San Antonio ACS, investigators need help

“Somebody must know who these puppies belong to, imagine if they had died from the cold; could you live with that on your conscience? If they have done it once, they will do it again…please help find those born without a heart & make them pay! Everybody knows there are charity’s that will take your dogs if you can’t care for them. To simply leave them in a box outside a shelter isn’t good enough, they could have died due to weather conditions; it’s just a cowardly way out, for someone who doesn’t give a SxxT about living sentient beings…& it makes me so fxxxxxg mad!!

By Sharon Ko, KENS 53:23 p.m. CST January 24, 2015

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Animal cruelty investigators are asking for the public’s help to find the person responsible for dumping puppies outside Animal Care Services.

Friday morning, a veterinary technician discovered the puppies in a cardboard box with a plastic bag tied around it. ACS named them the seven dwarfs after the Snow White fairytale.

“Leaving them outside, unattended, and nobody is around. And the weather conditions are bad where they could potentially die,” said Audra Houghton, ACS field operation supervisor.

ACS asks anyone who has information about the person who left the animals to contact the organization at (210) 207-4PET (4738).(Photo: KENS 5)

In 2014, ACS issued more than 5,000 citations for animal cruelty and sent 42 cases to the district attorney‘s office. Animal cruelty investigators said San Antonio can do better. They said it comes down to public education.

“That’s probably what the biggest issue is. We have owners who can’t necessarily afford to care for their pets and don’t think they can afford to. Those are all things that can be remedied. So our officers try very hard to educate the public,” said Houghton

Abandoning animals is considered a misdemeanor with a four thousand dollar fine and up to a year in jail. The puppies appear to be two-month old Spaniel blends. ACS says the puppies are not old enough to be adopted yet. ACS asks anyone who has information about the person who left the animals to contact the organization at (210) 207-4PET (4738).

News Link:–http://www.kvue.com/story/news/state/2015/01/24/puppies-dumped-in-a-box-outside-acs-investigators-need-help/22279603/

Graphic Video: California Towns Ban Bullhooks For Elephants

 “Seriously, if you were caught using a bullhook, stick or broom etc. on a dog, cat or horse etc. whipping or poking it until it bleeds; I’m sure, you would be charged with animal abuse; & quite rightly so! These bullhooks are used to control elephants; via pain, just as various other weapons are used for the rest of the circus animals! Elephants may have thick skin, but did you know they can feel a fly land on them?? So how do you think a bullhook feels to an elephant when it’s used aggressively by an impatient trainer or handlers mucking out stalls etc. I bet it hurts like hell! Bullhooks are used to keep circus elephants in check, by tugging on sensitive parts of the elephant like their ear’s & gouging at their legs to make them perform unnatural tricks for the paying audience! Elephants were not made to entertain humans, which is why they are forced by the bullhook & electric prods (verified on undercover surveillance) to entertain! How else would one get an elephant to lift off front or rear feet, walk around a big ball with one foot on it, the other turning it, or how about getting them to do a handstand; using their trunks as a balancing aid? I’m pretty sure they don’t conform to words alone, or snacks! These elephants are performing stunts in such a way as they would never, in the wild; their bodies are simply not made to do balancing acts, it’s so unnatural for them to even consider doing tricks…but a bullhook used by a human, aimed at the right place, makes it much easier to get the job done, by causing pain. They’re not dogs who can learn a trick within half an hour using treats alone. Plus the tricks elephants are forced to do; adds injuries to their ailments later in life!!!

“Those that intentionally inflict pain & suffering & enjoy carrying out their sickening hold on animals, are not worthy of being called animal trainers or handlers etc.; they are good for one thing; picking up the mess after said animal has been to the toilet!! If they can yank an elephant round, how do the treat their family pets? They shouldn’t be or in the care of any animal; if they don’t mind whacking an elephant around its body, for simply getting a verbal command right!! Torture devices can be used right under the noses of the people, paying to watch the elephants or other animals at the circus; paying customers have no idea the animals are suffering; whilst performing ridiculous tricks! Innocent looking walking sticks can be used to enforce pain, yet they look totally harmless to the distanced crowd! However, they are anything but innocent, a simple walking stick can be turned into a torture device used on any animals whilst performing etc. Props like this can have spiked nails in one end that the trainers uses to control the animals! Those watching the performance wouldn’t be able to see nails in sticks etc…they are simply too far away; but it still looks so innocent to those watching!”

“To be honest I’m astounded that more elephants haven’t attacked, killed their trainers or gone on a rampage; like several have over the years, due to the constant abuse from humans carrying  bullhooks or other items, such as a walking cane, filled with spiked nails, that when touched, cause pain etc! Could it be that elephants who were caught in the wild, remember the heartache of being taken from family & the torture chamber called the Phajaan? I’m sure those that were caught wild will never ever forget the pain of being taken from its mother & family! But it’s the Phajaan, the poor little elephant will remember forever, because that was home where he was a victim to horrendous abuse! The Phajaan is where all wild caught small elephants are horrifically tortured daily; used for one reason other than a horror chamber…it breaks the spirit of the elephant!

 Once they are in the Phajaan they can’t turn or even lay down; heavy duty rope or chains cause terrible suffering & injuries! Each foot is tied down so tightly to stop them having any chance of hurting the people who are torturing them. Rope is tied around the neck & body so there is no way they can escape! Food & water is used as a training tool too (it still is being used today) the elephants get neither if they haven’t complied with the human commands being barked at them all day for weeks or months! The elephant will stay tied in the phajaan, being whipped, poked & prodded daily to the point of bleeding from  wounds!! It stops, only when & depending on how quickly the humans can break the little elephants spirit! That is what the phajaan is made for…to literally break the elephant down, both physically & mentally, until it has no fight left in it & the elephant starts to obey the human commands!! Captured young, these elephants have to be submissive before they can be trained for log work or to be sent somewhere to be trained as a circus elephant! Nobody will pay for an elephant if it will not obey human commands. The Phajaan is used as a medieval cage of wood & it succeeds in breaking the most hardened spirit of an elephant…over time the elephant just won’t be able to stand the beatings or go on without water or food; he must submit to stop the pain & he realises; he is now a slave to humans!”

“I have a theory about why most captured elephants try not to retaliate after a beating with a bullhook etc. They say elephants have fantastic memories…well perhaps it’s the thought of being taken back to that torture chamber, where the elephants endured terrible suffering & beatings…in the Phajaan; at the hands of humans!! The horror of that place must be tattooed in the memory of every elephant that suffered there. The elephants don’t understand they will never return to that horrible place if they don’t conform. The Phajaan & the humans, who mentally & physically broke them using such weapons like the bullhooks, will stay with the elephants forever! They may be in a different place, but it is still the humans who control them! Do the elephants even know their own power & strength against humans; probably not, because it was forced out of them in the Phajaan? They only know that humans are the leaders & with their torture tools, can still physically beat & hurt the elephants, if they don’t comply!!”

“Could fear alone stop the elephants from causing harm to their trainers or owners, after all, thats all the elephants know about humans; how much pain they can cause! When they are shipped off to do other work, where all elephants know of humans is they are to be feared & must be obeyed in order not to receive punishment, I wonder if the new elephant looks at the other elephants old wounds & realises; that they too came through the same cruel path!  So do they actually behave & perform out of fear? Fear of going back to the Phajaan perhaps ensures most elephants comply! What do you think?”

“Please watch the video below, to help understand what elephants endure through life. A circus elephant could have come through the same route; tortured & abused in the Phajaan, their spirits forever broken at the hands of humans!”

By Kristin J. Bender Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. — The circus will stop coming to Oakland in a few years after a tool used by elephant handlers was banned in the city.

The Oakland City Council earlier this week unanimously approved an ordinance outlawing bullhooks. The instrument resembles a fireplace poker, with a sharp hook on one end that is used by trainers to control the animals. 

Tom Rider, a former circus elephant trainer, shows a bullhook that is used by elephant trainers. The Oakland, Calif., City Council earlier this week unanimously approved an ordinance outlawing bullhooks, an instrument resembling a fireplace poker with a sharp hook on one end that is used by trainers to control the animals. Oakland is now the second city in California, after Los Angeles, to ban the use of a bullhooks. File photo

Oakland is now the second California city, after Los Angeles, to ban the use of a bullhooks. The circus will stop performing in Los Angeles in summer 2016. The Oakland ban takes effect in 2017.

“(That) will be the last time we will be in Oakland because we can’t perform without the elephants,” said Stephen Payne, spokesman for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

But the circus is still holding out hope about having future performances in Oakland. “We may see if the Oakland City Council wants to reconsider,” he said. Payne said the move is a loss for people who enjoy the circus. An estimated 30,000 people attended the Oakland circus over six days last summer, he said.

“Please Note Viewer Discretion advised! “Breaking the spirit of a young wild elephant” to be used to pull logs, work in the tourist industry or sold onto circuses”

“To Truly understand how an elephant’s spirit is broken & make them afraid of man…you really should watch this video”

Published on 8 Mar 2012

Here are the images of the training of wild elephants that are caught for the tourist trade. Please remind yourself and tell others that by visiting elephant camps you are supporting this!

The Oakland Zoo and animal rights activists supported the ordinance, saying bullhooks are cruel and inhumane. Other U.S. cities to ban bullhooks include Miami Beach, Florida.

Proponents say the tool is designed to give trainers dominance over elephants and does not hurt or harm the animal. “A lot of the information that was presented to the Oakland City Council by the proponents was designed to distort our animal care,” Payne said.

Oakland Zoo Chief Executive Officer Joel Parrott said the practice hearkens back to the turn of the 20th century and has no place in modern times.

“If I suggested using a bullhook on giraffes to get them through gates or to stab tigers to get them to do what I want them to do, everybody would react,” Parrott said. “The only reason it’s acceptable is we’ve grown used to it with the elephants.”

News Link:-http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20141219/business/141218357/

“Quote links below; read the & find out something you never knew about elephants”         

                                                                                                     The Sense of Touch

Despite its thickness, an elephant’s skin is very sensitive, to the point where it can feel a fly land on its back. Surprisingly, it is also sensitive to the sun, and baby elephants are even known to sunburn. The species’ notorious love for mud and baths helps alleviate both of these problems.

If you liked this article and the Bonus Facts below, you might also enjoy:

• Do Elephants Really Have Exceptional Memories?
• The Elephant Condemned to Death by Hanging
• 12 Interesting Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Rhinoceroses
• How the Sun Burns Your Skin and How Sunscreen Prevents This
• Why Skin Wrinkles in Water

Bonus Elephant Facts

• Elephants can be either “right-handed” or “left-handed,” and this is often shown by greater wear on one tusk as opposed to the other. Dogs and Cats are also often right or left “handed”.
• Unlike the rhinoceros, whose horn is made of hair-like keratin, elephant tusks are actually overgrown incisors. Incredibly long, at least one-third of an elephant’s tusk is inside the animal’s head, outside of view. The outside, ivory part of the tusk is, like its other teeth, comprised of dentine surrounded by a layer of enamel. An elephant’s tusks never stop growing.
• The heaviest tusks recorded weigh about 220 pounds per tusk, while the longest ever discovered were 11 feet long! Tusks today are generally much smaller due to the ivory trade and poaching keeping them from reaching such mammoth sizes.
• In a rare example of unanimity, the whole world banned the trade in ivory in 1989 with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In the decade preceding the agreement, more than half of Africa’s elephants had been killed in order to harvest the ivory, and today, poaching continues. In fact, in 2011, only a portion of the largest seizures collected found in excess of 50 thousand pounds of poached ivory. To combat this, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had proposed regulations in February 2014 that would have placed “a near-total ban on anything made with ivory moving in and out of the U.S.” However, the sweeping regulation had many concerned that it would inhibit the transportation of “old ivory,” such as that found in antique pieces of art and musical instruments. After a public outcry, particularly from concert musicians who often need to travel with their antique, ivory-fitted instruments to perform, FWS carved out an exception in May 2014.
• Today there are somewhere between 400,000 and 600,000 African elephants remaining, and, unless things change, they are predicted to become locally extinct within 50 years

News Link with more interesting facts about elephants:–http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/07/skin-african-elephant/

UPDATE: Christopher Dillingham, Washington Man Who Allegedly Blew Up ‘Possessed’ Dog, Pleads Not Guilty

“This psycho needs to be taken off the streets, he is a danger to both animals & the public.; if he can blow up a dog, what else is he capable of??. How the hell can he plead not guilty; when he made the bloody bomb with the intent to blow up his dog! Personally I think this can be classed as one of the worst cases of animal cruelty! I don’t see how he can evade prison, but if he does; then the law regarding “did the animal suffer” needs to be changed…of course the animal suffered; it was bloody blown up!!”

Christopher Dillingham, a Washington state fireworks seller, pleaded not guilty Thursday to blowing up his dog with explosives.

Dillingham, 45, of Stevenson, Wash., allegedly blew up his 3-year-old Labrador retriever – a gift from his ex-girlfriend – because he believed it was possessed by the devil, authorities told the Associated Press earlier this month.

Dillingham pleaded not guilty Thursday in a Skamania County courtroom Thursday to charges of possession of a bomb or explosive device with intent to use for an unlawful purpose, animal cruelty, a fireworks violation, and reckless endangerment, prosecutors told CNN. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge.

The animal cruelty charges were filed after the other offences because investigators initially said that the 3-year-old dog didn’t suffer during the incident.

Dillingham, who owns a fireworks business, allegedly told authorities he was preparing for “the rapture” when he strapped explosives to the dog’s collar. Authorities said the dog died instantly, according to the AP.

Cabela blown up with home made bomd

Neighbours called the Skamania County Sheriff’s Department about loud explosions coming from Dillingham’s home around 3:45 a.m. Aug. 6. Deputies discovered the dead dog’s remains on Dillingham’s property.

Dillingham reportedly told authorities he was preparing for the end of the world, which he believed was imminent due to a nuclear attack.

He also allegedly told sheriff’s deputies that his ex-girlfriend gave him the dog and that she “put the devil in it.”

When Dillingham allegedly strapped explosives to the dog, he distracted the lab with treats so it wouldn’t try to knock them off its collar.

He allegedly told police he made the explosives from black powder derived from fireworks.

Dillingham remains in the Skamania County Jail, where he has been holed up since Aug. 4.

He was unable to come up with the $500,000 bond set by a judge.

News Link:-http://www.ibtimes.com/christopher-dillingham-washington-man-who-allegedly-blew-possessed-dog-pleads-not-guilty-1388879

Please sign petition demand Justice:–http://forcechange.com/71703/commend-pursuit-of-justice-for-dog-blown-up-by-owner/

Related post:-

• Christopher Dillingham, Washington Man Who Allegedly Blew Up ‘Possessed’ Dog, Pleads Not Guilty (preciousjules1985.wordpress.com)

Man Who Beat Puppy to Death with Baseball Bat has Animal Cruelty Conviction Overturned

“WTF…this is unbelievable, how the hell can you say that a man beating a puppy to death with a baseball bat; isn’t premeditated torture; with intent to kill?? It wasn’t a bloody accident, this man purposely looked for something to beat the puppy with; is that the mind of any normal sane person? NO!! I think the judges on the Iowa appeal council, need to watch some videos of evil bxxxxx’s harming animals; perhaps then, they might find their hearts, because they were obviously missing in this case…that, or they simply are as cold hearted as the perpetrator; it’s a total disgrace, this psychopath should have been locked up!! 

A man who was convicted of animal torture after beating a 7-month-old Boston terrier to death with a baseball bat had his conviction thrown out by the Iowa Court of Appeals on Wednesday, according to the Des Moines Register.

An Iowa man who had been convicted of beating to death his Boston terrier puppy with a baseball bat had that conviction over turned by an appellate court on Wednesday. (Photo : Flickr)

In December 2011 Meerdink used a baseball bat to beat to death his puppy because it had soiled the carpet multiple times and bit the children of Meerdink’s girlfriend, reports the Des Moines Register.

Zachary Meerdink‘s conviction was overturned by the three judge panel by a vote of 2-1. Chief Judge Larry Eisenhauer and Judge Mary Tabor ruled that the prosecution was unable to show that Meerdink used “depraved or sadistic intent to cause death” as required to convict for animal torture, according to the Associated Press.

“After considering the definitions of ‘depraved,’ we conclude ‘depraved intent to cause death’ does not equal an ‘intent to cause death,'” Judge Eisenhauer wrote in his decision. “Here, the state proved Meerdink killed the dog, however, no one saw Meerdink kill the dog, and no testimony or exhibits and no reasonable inferences or presumptions from the testimony and exhibits sufficiently prove Meerdink acted with a depraved intent to cause death.”

Lin Sorenson, founder of the St. Francis Foundation for Pets, created the non-profit to advocate for tougher penalties in animal cruelty cases.

“The decision by the court is inconceivable and breaks the logic barrier,” Sorenson said. “Beating an innocent dog to death with a baseball bat meets the level of sadistic intent necessary in the Iowa Code to constitute animal torture.”

Roxanne Conlin, a Des Moines attorney who also takes in foster pets from time to time, told the Des Moines Register that beating a puppy with a baseball bat is inherently evil.

“I have some great difficulty understanding how you beat a puppy to death and not have sadistic intent,” Conlin said. “How could it not be sadistic? It would seem as if this calls for an outcry.”

Dennis Hendrickson, one of the three lawyers who worked on the appeal for Meerdink, told theDes Moines Register that it was a matter of perspective.

“Sadistic is a pretty high bar,” Hendrickson said. “I mean, in Canada, they beat baby seals over the head and club them to death, and I don’t hear anybody but the PETA people saying that’s torture. It’s ‘harvesting fur.‘”

In her dissenting opinion Judge Anuradha Vaitheswaran said that Meerdink acted in an extreme manner to what was a foreseeable event, a puppy not being housebroken, according to the Associated Press.

“A reasonable fact-finder could have found depravity based on the dog’s age, the fact that the act was precipitated by nothing more than the puppy’s weak stomach, the inference that Meerdink spent some time searching for a blunt instrument with which to kill the dog, the uncontested fact that Meerdink inflicted ‘severe physical pain,’ and the fact that the animal was a family pet,” Vaitheswaran wrote in her dissent

News Link:–http://www.hngn.com/articles/7446/20130711/man-beat-puppy-death-baseball-bat-animal-cruelty-conviction-overturned.htm

Pennsylvania Police: Man Duct-Taped Dog’s Legs, Muzzle; Animal Is Recovering

“YES…this is the 3rd story about dogs & duct tape…but this guy hopefully will get what he deserves & a little bit more if I pray really hard! I just want to know why, what did the dog do to deserve being wrapped in duct tape? It was probably something & nothing, just the mind of a psycho at work!! But I bet he just gets a slapped wrist, unless they find it really was done intentionally to harm the dog. Just imagine the torturous pain that poor dog must have felt, having  to have the duct tape removed from its body…ouch…that alone deserves at least a few months in prison & banned for life from owning any pets…it’s the only sure-fire way to stop these sick bastards!! “

GREENTOWN, Pa. — A north-eastern Pennsylvania man is facing charges after he allegedly duct-taped a dog’s legs and muzzle.

Pennsylvania Humane Society police Officer Marlene Metzger says she filed cruelty-to-animal charges against 26-year-old Greentown, Pike County, resident Russell Seese on Tuesday.

Metzgar says that’s after the Labrador/pit bull mix was found at his house, bound with duct tape and placed in an outbuilding.

She says the animal was taken to a veterinarian and is recovering.

A telephone listing for Seese could not be located and it wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

News Link:-http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/03/police_man_duct-taped_dogs_leg.html

Ohio Governor Issues Order On Exotic Animal Rules

COLUMBUS: Gov. John Kasich has cleared the way for Ohio to enforce temporary rules set by a board that was created under the state’s new law on exotic animals.

The Dangerous and Restricted Animals Advisory Board established interim rules for cage sizes and the care taking of regulated animals, such as alligators, cougars and lions. Kasich signed an executive order Tuesday that enables the Ohio Department of Agriculture to adopt the rules immediately.

The advisory board decides the proper thickness of the animals’ cages and how they should be maintained, among other requirements. Kasich’s order says animal owners will have 90 days to comply with the rules once they’re adopted.

More permanent standards will be put in place when new state permits are required in 2014.

News Link:-http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/ohio-governor-issues-order-on-exotic-animal-rules-1.353575?localLinksEnabled=false

 

Man mauled to death by grizzly bears while cleaning enclosure at Montana wildlife park

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A trainer who was mauled to death while cleaning the pen of two, 500-pound brown bears at a Montana wildlife casting agency suffered extensive wounds that make it impossible to determine if he was conscious before the attack, authorities said Monday.

Best friends: Animals of Montana owner Troy Hyde had to put down the attacking bear
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2227972/Man-mauled-death-grizzlies-tragic-bear-attack-Montana-wild-life-enclosure.html#ixzz2BOWyoEeJ
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There were no defensive wounds on the hands or arms of 24-year-old Benjamin Cloutier when his body was pulled from the pen on Sunday, and he apparently had not used the bear spray he was carrying, said Demetri Price, head trainer at Animals of Montana near Bozeman.

As a result, Price has speculated that Cloutier might have fallen and hit his head before being killed.

Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin confirmed the absence of defensive wounds and the non-use of the spray. But he said there was no way to prove Cloutier was unconscious when the attack began.

“The body had been attacked so fiercely, there were so many injuries that there was no way — that’s why we’re not going to speculate,” Gootkin said.

However, he said it was clear that Cloutier died of bite and claw wounds that hit major arteries.

The death remains under investigation by the sheriff’s office and wardens from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. It has been listed as accidental and is not considered a criminal matter.

Animals of Montana provides captive-bred animals for photography shoots and motion pictures, ranging from African lions and minks to badgers and bobcats. The company says the bears have been used in “attack re-enactments” for films in which trainers are used as stuntmen.

Cloutier had worked as a trainer at the company since 2008 and had been in the bear enclosure hundreds of times, Price said.

Price was the first person to arrive at the pen after the mauling. He described Cloutier’s death as a “tragic accident” and insisted it was not an attack. Cloutier did not scream for help, and none of the other animals at the facility showed any signs of alarm before the discovery, Price said.

“I believe, given all things accounted for, that (Cloutier) was somehow rendered unconscious, whether it be he slipped and hit his head or something” else, Price said. “The bears we believed killed him, but we don’t believe it was an attack scenario.”

Price said he was approaching the enclosure when he saw the victim on the ground with two captive-bred, 8-year-old male bears nearby. One of the bears, nicknamed Griz, was behaving as though he had taken possession of the victim, and Price said he had to kill the animal so he could get to Cloutier.

When he did, Cloutier was dead, with wounds inflicted by Griz or the other bear in the enclosure, nicknamed Yosemite.

Cloutier was originally from York Haven, Pa. Price said the staff at Animals of Montana had suffered “a double loss” with the death of Cloutier and the loss of Griz, which he called the favorite animal of the victim.

Cloutier’s family could not be immediately reached for comment.

Animals of Montana had three bears prior to Sunday that were identified on the company’s website as grizzly bears.

However, the facility’s permit for the two involved in the mauling lists them as Syrian brown bears, a subspecies of brown bears that are different from grizzlies, said Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokeswoman Andrea Jones.

The company had the necessary state and federal permits to keep the bears. But its license is being reviewed in the wake of the death, and the company’s permit to exhibit Yosemite has been suspended pending the investigation, Jones said.

News Link: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/crime/article/Sheriff-Fierce-wounds-complicate-MT-mauling-probe-4007955.php#ixzz2BOTlh5i4

Close to nature: Workers at Animals of Montana are used to being on close terms with a number of dangerous animals like grizzlies, leopards, and coyotes
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2227972/Man-mauled-death-grizzlies-tragic-bear-attack-Montana-wild-life-enclosure.html#ixzz2BOSHotNV

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2227972/Man-mauled-death-grizzlies-tragic-bear-attack-Montana-wild-life-enclosure.html#ixzz2BOQeGV4c

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Ohio Owners Sue State Over New Exotic Animal law

(I know, I know, I am behind with a lot of posts, so some news has been & gone… I’m going as fast as I physically can do… 🙂 )

“I honestly don’t think anybody should have the right to own & especially breed wild animals. If want to see a wild animal then go to its habitat instead of being lazy & growing one in your backyard!”

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Four owners of exotic animals in Ohio are suing the state’s agriculture department and its director over a new law regulating dangerous wildlife, contending the restrictions threaten their First Amendment and property rights.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in Columbus federal court. It comes as the owners faced a Monday deadline to register their animals with the state.

In this Aug. 25, 2010 photo, Cyndi Huntsman poses in front of caged tigers at her Stump Hill Farm in Massillon, Ohio. Huntsman is one of four owners of exotic animals in Ohio suing the state’s agriculture department and its director over a new law regulating the dangerous wildlife. Photo: Mark Duncan / AP

The owners’ attorney said Monday that the state has agreed not to enforce certain provisions of the law until there’s a hearing on the lawsuit. Attorney Robert Owens said lawyers were still reviewing the agreement, but a court order detailing the arrangement was expected in the coming days.

For instance, under the agreement, Ohio officials wouldn’t refer owners for prosecution if they didn’t register their animals by Monday.

Under the law, owners who don’t register could face a first-degree misdemeanor charge for a first offense, and a fifth-degree felony for any subsequent offenses.

A spokeswoman for the agriculture department declined to comment on the lawsuit and the agreement.

The owners claim the law forces them to join private associations and possibly give up their animals without compensation. They also take issue with a requirement that the animals be implanted with a microchip before they’re registered, so the creatures can be identified if they get lost or escape.

The state has said it would work with owners on the microchip requirement.

As of Monday, Ohio’s agriculture department said it had received 130 registration forms accounting for 483 dangerous wild animals in the state.

In this Aug. 25, 2010 photo, Cyndi Huntsman holds a baby zebra at her Stump Hill Farm in Massillon, Ohio. Huntsman is one of four owners of exotic animals in Ohio suing the state’s agriculture department and its director over a new law regulating the dangerous wildlife. Photo: Mark Duncan / AP

Ohio’s restrictions on exotic animals had been among the nation’s weakest.

State lawmakers worked with a renewed sense of urgency to strengthen the law after owner Terry Thompson last fall released 50 creatures from an eastern Ohio farm in Zanesville before he committed suicide.

Authorities killed 48 of the animals, fearing for the public’s safety. Two others were presumed eaten by other animals. The six surviving animals were placed under quarantine at the zoo. Five were later returned to Thompson’s widow, Marian Thompson. The zoo had to euthanize one leopard.

Marian Thompson was among those who registered animals with the state. She submitted information for the two leopards, two primates and a bear that survived.

Registration forms obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request also show she has two 11-week-old leopards on the property.

The owners suing the state have multiple breeds of exotic animals. They are Terry Wilkins, who owns a reptile and amphibian store called Captive Born Reptiles in Columbus; Cyndi Huntsman, owner of Stump Hill Farm in Massillon; Mike Stapleton, owner of Paws & Claws Animal Sanctuary in Prospect; and Sean Trimbach, owner of Best Exotics LLC in Medway, where he breeds, raises and sells exotic animals.

In their lawsuit, the owners say the cost of implanting a microchip in the animal can exceed the animal’s value. They also contend that joining certain groups to become exempt from the law means they would have to associate and fund organizations with which they disagree.

The law exempts sanctuaries, research institutions and facilities accredited by some national zoo groups, such as the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Zoological Association of America.

While the law took effect last month, some aspects have yet to kick in. For instance, a permit process for owners won’t begin until next October.

Current owners who want to keep their animals must obtain the new state-issued permit by Jan. 1, 2014. They must pass background checks, pay fees, obtain liability insurance or surety bonds, and show inspectors that they can properly contain the animal and care for it.

One of the factors of obtaining of permit includes timely registration.

If owners are denied permits or can’t meet the new requirements, the state can seize the animals.

News Link:- http://www.chron.com/news/article/Owners-lawyer-Agreement-reached-in-exotics-case-4009262.php#photo-3692025

2 dogs found emaciated; owner charged with animal cruelty

One of two dogs confiscated Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, in Paw Paw Township, is shown. / Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office

Authorities in south western Michigan have charged a woman with cruelty to animals after they confiscated a pair of emaciated dogs found chained up outside an apparently vacant home.

The Van Buren County sheriff‘s department says the dogs’ owner 33-year-old Brandi Espinosa pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Thursday in District Court in Paw Paw.

She was released. Her next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 26.

One of two dogs confiscated Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, in Paw Paw Township, is shown. / Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office

A message seeking comment was left Friday by The Associated Press at a telephone listing for Espinosa.

The court said it didn’t know whether she had a lawyer.

The sheriff’s department says the mixed breed dogs found Wednesday in Paw Paw Township, about 50 miles southwest of Grand Rapids, are part pit bull.

 

 

 

The dogs are being cared for by Van Buren County Animal Control.

 

 

News Link:-http://www.freep.com/article/20120928/NEWS06/120928030/2-dogs-found-emaciated-woman-charged-with-animal-cruelty?odyssey=obinsite