 Neglect at pet store - 150 rabbits, rodents, snakes, lizards found dead in their cages
Mount Vernon, NY (US)Date: Aug 4, 2003
County: Westchester
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: John McGovernDiana Lall
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One week after a pet shop was found with hundreds of abandoned animals left to starve and eat one another, the authorities here have discovered more animals left to die. Acting on a tip, the Mount Vernon police recovered almost 300 animals in a garage on a north side of town, dozens of them dehydrated or dead.
Bernice Kennedy, the city's police commissioner, said that the animals had been moved by the owners of the original pet store, New York Reptile Depot, the day before authorities entered the shop on Aug. 4. Inside the shop, they found more than 150 rabbits, rodents, snakes and lizards dead in their cages, with the survivors subsisting on carcasses.
Mr. Kennedy, as well as Jeanine Pirro, the Westchester County district attorney, said the animals that had been moved to the garage were more expensive the ones left at the store.
There may have been an attempt to separate the more valuable ones for sale later, officials said. But they added that the more costly animals did not receive significantly better care than the cheaper ones.
Included among the animals at the garage were ball pythons, an anaconda, millipedes from Africa, and a savannah monitor, a two-foot lizard. Ms. Pirro held the lizard, with some trepidation, during a news conference at the Mount Vernon Animal Shelter, where the surviving animals were taken.
"There were stacks and stacks of cages of animals lying and floating dead," said Georgi Turer, a wildlife rehabilitator who helped bring the survivors to the shelter.
Charges of animal cruelty were brought against John McGovern, who, as one of the pet shop owners, was also charged in the initial case involving the pet shop. He has been charged in connection with the more recent discovery, they said, because he had access to the garage, although it was unclear who owned it.
Another person, Diana Lall, was issued a summons for violating a city code that prohibits keeping certain animals within city limits. Ms. Lall was supposed to be the one responsible for the animals' care in the garage, officials said.
In addition, three other owners were charged after the initial discovery at the pet shop, as was the man who leased the store to them, Glen Scuderi, who padlocked the doors after the store was abandoned.
Speaking at the shelter, Ms. Pirro talked of changing current animal cruelty laws. She said negligence that leads to the death of more than 10 animals should be a felony. Currently, animal cruelty is only considered a felony if sadistic intent can be proved. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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