Hundreds of rabbits, most dead, found on property
San Jose, CA (US)Incident Date: Friday, Jan 27, 1995
County: Santa Clara
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Lawrence Frey
Lawrence Frey, 57, an unemployed engineer has been arrested by officers from the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley after a brief shouting match. Frey had about 300 dead and live animals, most of the animals were rabbits kept in horrible conditions which were sold for pets and food.
In Frey's refrigerator was his 25-year old dead pet poodle. There were dead baby rabbits in muddy flood water below the backyard cages. It appeared the babies had fallen out of the cages and drowned in the muddy water.
Mike Frazer, Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley, said "He had live rabbits, pieces of rabbits, dead rabbits, rabbit pelts -- I don't know why."
Frey lived alone and doesn't have any known relatives living in the area. He advertised rabbits for sale in the Mercury News for years. When a potential customer came to his home to buy a rabbit, the customer was disgusted by the environment the rabbits were living in and notified the authorities.
One of Frey's neighbors, called the humane society who said he was awakened one night by the sound of a screaming rabbit. Mike Frazer said, "There were too many males in one cage, and the rabbit that was screaming was found dead in the cage next morning. You don't put males together in a cage because they fight."
When the humane society, a San Jose code inspector and veterinarian, Sally Rademaker, went into the home after executing the search warrant they found 107 dead animals, including baby rabbits, near the 50 cages in the man's backyard. Dead animals were found in boxes, in garbage cans and in a bag in Frey's dining room. There were a few guinea pigs and squirrels in the home also.
The veterinarian had to kill 78 animals on the spot due to injuries or disease. The diseased animals had a communicable bacterial infection called pasteurellosis that causes animal pneumonia, sores, eye infections and internal disorders.
Many of the cages didn't have any food or water, some cages were sealed shut, piles of animal feces was in the cages and the area around the cages.
The rabbits were sold by Frey for $10 to $20 each violating the city code. Frey mentioned he was from Kansas and had been raising rabbits since he was a child.
About 100 rabbits and guinea pigs were healthy. The healthy animals are being cared for by volunteers from a local group, Rabbit Connection, which calls itself a rabbit rescue organization.
A Rabbit Connection volunteer said most of the animals are healthy enough for adoption. "People think, 'bunnies how cute,' but these are not pets for small children. These rabbits are aloof and scared and don't like to be handled much. They're independent creatures." References« CA State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Santa Clara County, CA
|
