Sanctuary neglect - over 700 animals
San Antonio, TX (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Sep 30, 2006
County: Bexar
Disposition: Not Charged
Person of Interest: Wallace Swett
In an abrupt turnabout that has left some animal rights activists perplexed, the Texas attorney general has decided to abandon the state's efforts to seize a San Antonio animal sanctuary whose operators were accused of animal cruelty and financial malfeasance.
Instead, a representative of Atty. Gen. Greg Abbott will appear before an Austin probate judge on April 27, 2007 and ask that the sanctuary, Primarily Primates, be immediately returned to some of the same former operators whom Abbott last year accused of neglecting and mistreating the animals in their care.
So dire were the conditions at the sanctuary, crowded with more than 700 animals, that Abbott successfully petitioned the probate court to hand control of the facility to a special receiver, who took over last October and immediately set out to remedy the most severe problems. Among them were animal waste that overflowed the grounds, rusted doors that prevented keepers from accessing the animals, the absence of any on-site veterinary facilities and a massive infestation of cockroaches and rats.
Officials in the attorney general's office declined Thursday to elaborate on the reasons for dropping the case.
"The troubling conditions at Primarily Primates have been remedied" by the temporary receiver, spokesman Tom Kelley said in a brief written statement.
Kelley added that under the terms of the proposed settlement, "the individual responsible for the unhealthy conditions"-Primarily Primates' founder and former director Wallace Swett-will be permanently barred from the facility and that a new board of directors will be appointed.
But a copy of the settlement, reviewed by the Tribune, makes clear that several of the new board members had close affiliations with Swett, including Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals, an animal-rights group that funded Swett's defense against the charges. Feral confirmed Thursday that Stephen Tello, Swett's former deputy, will become the director of the sanctuary if the judge approves the settlement.
"The attorney general's decision to hand Primarily Primates back to its former operators is a complete shock, and it's just plain wrong," said Lee Theisen-Watt, the court-appointed receiver, who under the terms of the settlement will have to depart the sanctuary by Tuesday. References« TX State Animal Cruelty Map
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