Serious Neglect Case

[SphynxDoberman]

I am going to have a freaking cow! I wrote a long, eloquent summary and then lost it all!
Well, not doing that again so a bulleted list will have to suffice. You guys would probably prefer that anyway.

1) I am a college student in NC and moved into a new place in August so my pets and foster animals could have more room
2) I was a dummy and didn't thoroughly investigate anything before I moved in and I didn't sign a lease
3) I've had nothing but issues since moving in but the animal neglect case bothers me the most, I will just cover stuff about the birds though (there are neglected dogs too)
4) Couldn't afford to move out or be kicked out mid-semester because of difficulty of finding animal friendly housing
5) The person whose lived here the longest and facilitated me moving in can be known as CK for chicken killer; he is very passive aggressive and doesn't like me doing anything with his animals
6) Another room-mate and I dumped out mosquito larvae infested buckets of stagnant water and CK was beyond angry because he said he used it to water his birds
7) CK had baby chick/ducks all of which have died, all his guinea fowl have died, most of his chickens/ducks have died
8) He rarely feeds, even more rarely waters them. If there is water, it is black. They live in filth and tiny or overcrowded cages with poor shelter.
9) No eggs have been produced since I moved here, probably due to poor nutrition.
10) He wouldn't allow me to help a very sick duck even though I was willing to go above and beyond for it. Duck was left for several hours suffering before it "disappeared"
11) I found a freezer full of all the dead baby birds and many of the birds that had "disappeared"
12) Dead ducks have also been thrown over the back yard's fence
13) I have found dead ducks in the cages that have been left for a time
14) I have tried to help the birds in other instances (secretly watering them in the middle of the night) but it ticks CK off and I remained terrified throughout the semester of getting kicked out
15) I have reached out for help but have been told to move out first as they didn't want me and my animals getting kicked out.
16) Lastly, over Thanksgiving his dog broke into a cage and killed two chickens. CK just said he would get more.

I have endured this for four months. Who knows how long the birds have endured this. I imagine he kills his whole flock off every year and then just replaces them in Spring. CK actually works for the poultry department of my university, which is frightening.
The semester is almost over and I have served my 30 day notice. I don't know how I will find a new place mid school year but I can't stand this any longer. Now I will finally be able to attempt something. What I want to happen is for them to confiscate the birds and ban him from owning anymore. Unfortunately he will probably get a slap on the wrist.
I have a meeting with the landlord I am very nervous about on Tuesday. I plan to bring this up but the landlord and CK are buddies so I am afraid he will side with CK (which is why I haven't contacted him before). Nonetheless, I only have 30 days left and he can't evict me sooner than that.
I have lots of videos and pictures as proof thankfully! If anyone wants to see them I can provide the links to them on YouTube; they attest far more to CK's inhumane husbandry than my brief words do.
I will gladly elaborate on anything. I was just so frustrated at having lost all my work that for now, this will have to do.
If you have any advice I would greatly appreciate it! Especially if you are familiar with my state's animal welfare laws.

 

[countrygoddess]

I think I would skip the formalities of animal welfare and just go directly to the police.

 

[FlyHigher]

Poor birds...
I would call the police or Dexter.

 

[countrygoddess]

Poor birds...
I would call the police or Dexter.

Dexter for sure!!

 

[Ruthieharris]

why dont you take all these poor animals to an animal shelter and pretended there was a break in .i wouldn't be able to handle living there and would of taken this action asap.Poor animals can't help themselves. This is my favourite quote ' Never , never be afraid to do what's right,especially if the well being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wound we afflict on our Soul when we look the other way'

 

[weaversfarm]

Because he works at the poultry dept. of your college, I would also give a copy of your pictures to the Dean of the college. This person should not be anywhere near poultry. If he is treating his own poultry like this, it's a good bet he isn't treating the colleges poultry very well either. I am not sure the college would appreciate his poultry keeping practices. It's so sad to see that people can treat defenseless animals like that. I just don't understand how people can do things like this to any animal, be it dogs, cats, poultry, goats, any animal. I give you a lot of credit for trying to do the right thing. Many people would walk away and who knows how many animals will suffer and eventually die at his hands? I would also contact the police with the video. The SPCA in our area is non existent as far as farm animals go but maybe you will have better luck there than in my state. Good luck to you and thank you for trying to help what's left of these animals. You are doing the right thing by trying to get these animals away from him. Keep us posted as to what happens....I hope this guy is put in jail for the pain and suffering he has inflicted on these animals.

 

[SphynxDoberman]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I am not sure that the police will care. Everyone has directed me to our Animal Control.

I have a rescue buddy who use to work for the equine department of my school (I go to a big agriculture school); she says the horses were treated fantastic but the other animal departments treated their animals horribly. I am sincerely hoping this is not true but a lot of the animal science people I run into from my school materialize animals while us zoology people are taught to respect and be amazed by animals. CK sites info all the time (that he learned from his department and my school) for how he treats his birds. Honestly, I have experience with a huge variety of animals all the way from tiny critters (like my spider) to lions and tigers and I did work at a barnyard in a great zoo before; so I know this is not the proper way to treat chickens and ducks but he constantly negates me with his "infinite" chicken wisdom and experience. I mean heck, he only has one animal area to specialize in and he can't even get that right.

I would have very much liked to have removed the animals from him. I honestly thought of stealing them but I didn't for a few reasons. 1) My family takes priority over everything and my family includes my pets. I could not in good conscious get myself evicted and have no where for my animals to go. My room-mate would have definitely known it was me and his dogs stay outside in the backyard nearly 24/7. It would be hard to explain why they were still there and not the chickens. 2) What I desire most, is him to not be able to have any more. This means I have to go about this legally and collect evidence. I could save these ones and then move and he would simply get more. Unfortunately, while my current room-mates disagree with his treatment of his animals, they have a mindset all too common for this area. "Mind your own business". I think this is why he has gotten away with it for so long; everyone who has seen his treatment of his animals has this mindset. My one room-mate even told me I should just move on and say nothing at all. So they would not bother helping any future birds. He also thinks that I should say nothing to the landlord because in his opinion, that is not the proper relationship to have with one's landlord. Whatever that means.

I am going to speak to the landlord on Tuesday because that is legally what I have been recommended to do (I have several rescue buddies who are lawyers). He may side with CK and maybe he will warn him but I have evidence even if things do get cleaned up. If he moves all the birds, well I hope Animal Control will still pursue the case. I am going to go to the authorities with this evidence right before I leave town next Friday. I am visiting family for the holiday, so me and my animals will pack on up and leave so he can't retaliate against them for my actions. My stuff will of course still be here for the rest of December but stuff can always be replaced if he goes crazy and wants revenge.

Thanks everyone for your support. It is nice to know that I am not crazy for thinking chickens and ducks have the right to be humanely treated. I did ask my room-mate if he would feel differently if CK was keeping a bunch of puppies that way and he said yes. To me that is sad. A life is still a life and everything should be treated humanely. He does have two dogs he does not care for well. The are usually outside 24/7 with no shelter and he is gone much of the time. In fact he has been gone all weekend and his little dog got loose and was running the streets this morning. I went and got him and let CK know and all he said was "ok, thanks". Unfortunately he treats his dogs well enough that I doubt they will be seized but keep your fingers crossed for the birds. I will give an update as to what happens.

 

[Fettfarm]

Does your school have a newspaper? Perhaps a budding reporter would like a story? Maybe the local paper would like a story with photos and evidence? Make sure the photos are date stamped. Make sure you and your animals and family are safe. This person is not right in the head. You need to protect yourself and be out of there before you do anything. Stay safe and have your plan in place when you are in a safe place where he can't harm you and yours.

 

[SphynxDoberman]

Thanks for the advice. I will try the newspaper route if this all falls through however finals are going on right now so I don't think many people will be reading the newspaper this month as everyone is leaving for the holiday after their exams. However, I don't plan on letting this go. I have further spoken with a rescue friend of mine and I am going to try speak first with the director of the shelter I occasionally foster for just to make sure the chickens and ducks will be available for rescue groups to pull after the case is closed.
By the time all heck breaks loose here, I hope to have my animals in my car and be gone. I sort of wish I could stay and oversee but you are right in that it's best if I am gone.
I will update when this all happens. Everyone, wish us all luck because we are going to need it.

Thanks!

 

[SphynxDoberman]

Hey guys, here's an update.

I spoke to the landlord on Tuesday and he was pretty nice. Made me feel like all my worries were for nothing. However, he is very close to CK (although can't quite figure out why he didn't check the property for so long). He guaranteed that the birds would have to go and he would let me get them to the great rescue I have lined up for them. He didn't really want AC involved but I told him I had already informed a lot of people.

So the landlord is coming over tomorrow to speak with CK; meanwhile CK has been cleaning like crazy and actually fed and watered his birds the other day.
Today I also called AC. Everything was going good until then. They sound genuinely uninterested in this case. The officer said he was have to see something wrong right then, my 4 months of evidence non-withstanding. He knows that the landlord is going to speak with CK tomorrow so the officer told me to call him back next week if the problem still hadn't been resolved.

Here is the kicker. I called the landlord after but refrained from telling him AC is disinterested because I didn't want him to renig on getting the birds out of there. However, he is now saying that he wants to give CK a chance. What I feel will happen will be that if that happens, CK will care for the birds until he feels like the landlord is out of his hair. So I told the landlord that these birds need immediate attention and AC would be out there is CK didn't agree to give the birds up to the rescue (so I fibbed a bit). I am unsure if this will sufficiently pressure them. I am additionally worried that CK will just move them to his partner's house or give them away just to spite me.

I am leaving tonight so I am not around tomorrow when the landlord basically tells CK that I ratted him out. CK comes off as a very nice person but I have noticed passive aggressive tendencies and I am telling the truth when I say I am afraid to be around after this. I am moving but my stuff will be here the rest of this month but at least me and my critters will be safe.

Please help, I need some more advice!