By DEBRA LEMOINE
Advocate Florida parishes bureau
Published: Jun 20, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:10 a.m.
WALKER Deputies arrested two people Thursday after finding more than 150 dead birds along with another 300 live, neglected fowl at a mobile home just outside the town limits of Walker.
Most of the neglected animals found on the property are birds, ranging from chickens to quails and peacocks, said Steven Hart, president and chief cruelty investigator for the Livingston Humane Society.
Investigators also found dogs and hamsters, a donkey and a miniature horse on the 2.5-acre property.
Responding to an anonymous tip, the Livingston Humane Society and the Livingston Parish Sheriffs Office went to the residence at 11260 Florida Blvd. and found most of the animals in the heavily wooded back yard of the property, said Jason Ard, Livingston Parish Sheriffs Office chief of operations.
Hundreds more dead chicks were found inside the rusted mobile home, authorities said.
Ive never seen anything this bad, said Terri Dunlap, vice president of the Livingston Humane Society.
Investigators think the couple arrested in the case, identified as Cindy Jones, 34, and Samuel Stroup, 40, both of 11260 Florida Blvd., Walker, raised the birds and animals for sale at flea markets, Hart said.
Unlike exotic pets, none of the animals required a special license to raise or sell, he said.
Volunteers worked well into the evening attempting to catch birds and animals to bring to foster homes.
Workers were seen chasing ducks with nets across the yard, while others were counting the remains of decomposed chickens, often using beaks as the only indicator of how many individual birds were part of the decay, Dunlap said. Long-dead carcasses were found inside cages with live animals, she said.
The number of dead and neglected animals is expected to rise as volunteers scour the site, Hart and Dunlap said.
One count of live animals included eight Chihuahuas, two pit bull terriers, one donkey, one miniature horse, eight geese, 42 Peking ducks, 11 pigeons, 18 rabbits, four hamsters, 41 silky chickens, 71 button quail, 85 regular quail, two peacocks and more than 100 chickens, Dunlap said.
Four rabbits and two chickens were euthanized because they were too sick to survive, said Susan Yarnall, a veterinarian from Denham Springs Animal Hospital.
Yarnall said she anticipates euthanizing more later on, but workers are trying to save as many of the sick animals as possible.
The property is located on a mainly commercial corridor of Florida Boulevard in an unincorporated area of Livingston Parish with a used car lot on one side and a single residence on the other. The Woodside landfill is nearby.
Although a faint scent of livestock wafted from the property, the odor did not hint at the carnage inside.
Most of the fowl were housed in a long, rusted shed obscured by brush and trees in a back yard littered with rusted trucks, boats and travel trailers. A faint chirping from the chicks could be heard from next door.
Inside the mobile home, investigators found dead animals littering the floors of bedrooms and 161 quail eggs and 33 chicken eggs inside the master bathroom, Dunlap said.
Deputies booked Jones and Stroup into the Livingston Parish Jail on 77 counts of animal cruelty, Ard said. Additional counts could be added as the investigation unfolds.
The humane society is seeking help in finding foster homes, feeding and medical care for the animals. Donations may be made to the Livingston Humane Society at P.O. Box 91, Walker, LA 70785, or to the Denham Springs Animal Hospital, which is assisting with veterinary care. People can also contact the parishs all-volunteer humane society at (225) 413-5902 or [email protected].
Advocate Florida parishes bureau
Published: Jun 20, 2008 - Page: 1B - UPDATED: 12:10 a.m.
WALKER Deputies arrested two people Thursday after finding more than 150 dead birds along with another 300 live, neglected fowl at a mobile home just outside the town limits of Walker.
Most of the neglected animals found on the property are birds, ranging from chickens to quails and peacocks, said Steven Hart, president and chief cruelty investigator for the Livingston Humane Society.
Investigators also found dogs and hamsters, a donkey and a miniature horse on the 2.5-acre property.
Responding to an anonymous tip, the Livingston Humane Society and the Livingston Parish Sheriffs Office went to the residence at 11260 Florida Blvd. and found most of the animals in the heavily wooded back yard of the property, said Jason Ard, Livingston Parish Sheriffs Office chief of operations.
Hundreds more dead chicks were found inside the rusted mobile home, authorities said.
Ive never seen anything this bad, said Terri Dunlap, vice president of the Livingston Humane Society.
Investigators think the couple arrested in the case, identified as Cindy Jones, 34, and Samuel Stroup, 40, both of 11260 Florida Blvd., Walker, raised the birds and animals for sale at flea markets, Hart said.
Unlike exotic pets, none of the animals required a special license to raise or sell, he said.
Volunteers worked well into the evening attempting to catch birds and animals to bring to foster homes.
Workers were seen chasing ducks with nets across the yard, while others were counting the remains of decomposed chickens, often using beaks as the only indicator of how many individual birds were part of the decay, Dunlap said. Long-dead carcasses were found inside cages with live animals, she said.
The number of dead and neglected animals is expected to rise as volunteers scour the site, Hart and Dunlap said.
One count of live animals included eight Chihuahuas, two pit bull terriers, one donkey, one miniature horse, eight geese, 42 Peking ducks, 11 pigeons, 18 rabbits, four hamsters, 41 silky chickens, 71 button quail, 85 regular quail, two peacocks and more than 100 chickens, Dunlap said.
Four rabbits and two chickens were euthanized because they were too sick to survive, said Susan Yarnall, a veterinarian from Denham Springs Animal Hospital.
Yarnall said she anticipates euthanizing more later on, but workers are trying to save as many of the sick animals as possible.
The property is located on a mainly commercial corridor of Florida Boulevard in an unincorporated area of Livingston Parish with a used car lot on one side and a single residence on the other. The Woodside landfill is nearby.
Although a faint scent of livestock wafted from the property, the odor did not hint at the carnage inside.
Most of the fowl were housed in a long, rusted shed obscured by brush and trees in a back yard littered with rusted trucks, boats and travel trailers. A faint chirping from the chicks could be heard from next door.
Inside the mobile home, investigators found dead animals littering the floors of bedrooms and 161 quail eggs and 33 chicken eggs inside the master bathroom, Dunlap said.
Deputies booked Jones and Stroup into the Livingston Parish Jail on 77 counts of animal cruelty, Ard said. Additional counts could be added as the investigation unfolds.
The humane society is seeking help in finding foster homes, feeding and medical care for the animals. Donations may be made to the Livingston Humane Society at P.O. Box 91, Walker, LA 70785, or to the Denham Springs Animal Hospital, which is assisting with veterinary care. People can also contact the parishs all-volunteer humane society at (225) 413-5902 or [email protected].
un Yep that about sums up my feelings!
