Chicken farmer faces new charges
Brooklyn, CT (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010
County: Windham
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Tang Quan Lin
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
State officials Friday euthanized 2,551 chickens and two ducks seized from a Brooklyn farm operated by a Massachusetts man who was arrested twice in the last three years on similar animal cruelty charges.
Officials from Connecticut and Massachusetts painted a picture of the "abysmal" conditions the animals suffered under the care of Tang Quan "Jason" Lin at 106 Tripp Hollow Road.
"Size-wise, just the scale of this neglect is something I haven't seen in my 25 years in this department," said Wayne Kasacek, assistant director of the state Department of Agriculture's bureau of regulation and inspection.
Kasacek said he was "tired and sore" Friday after spending more than seven hours at the scene of Lin's chicken operation, the culmination of a four-month-long state investigation. Inspectors late Thursday night, many wearing protective clothing, found numerous dead animals, unsanitary conditions and the appearance that none of the thousands of birds held on the facility's ground floor had been fed or given water in days.
The stress from the lack of food and water and the unsanitary conditions, combined with avian disease detected in the birds, made euthanasia the "most humane" option, Kasacek said. He said all of the chickens on site and two ducks had to be put down.
Human risk unlikely
The department has "no reason to believe there is any concern for human health," Kasacek said.
He said Lin had purchased the birds in Pennsylvania and transported them to Brooklyn. He then was preparing to sell the birds at an Asian live bird market in the Boston area, according to Kasacek.
For officials at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the raid was just the most recent page in Lin's sordid history with animals.
Brian Adams, a spokesman with the Boston-based group, said the organization led the way for Lin to be charged with 10 counts of animal cruelty in late 2007 and for 719 chickens and 303 ducks to be taken from a farm he was operating in Mendon, Mass.
"There were about 100 dead animals on the property that were mashed into the ground and animals were standing on top of their bodies," Adams said. "And from what it sounds like, it may have happened again."
Adams said some of the animals taken from Lin's farm had to be euthanized, but more than 600 chickens and ducks were taken to a farm of the organization's, where many found new homes.
In April 2008, a Massachusetts court continued without a finding the 10 counts against Lin for 18 months, Adams said. Adams said Lin was found neither guilty nor innocent, and the ruling is similar to probation. He said for those 18 months, Lin was banned from possessing commercial animals.
Kasacek said his department contacted the MSPCA and requested information about Lin when they learned of his previous charges in Massachusetts.
In Connecticut, Lin already faces six counts of cruelty to animals, as well as additional charges that he violated state poultry disposal and disease regulations, dating from arrests in September and December. Kasacek said Lin most likely will be charged again, noting the department is working closely with the state's attorney in Danielson.
After his arrest on Dec. 15, Lin was released from custody on the conditions he would provide adequate heat for the poultry and have a veterinarian examine all of the poultry by Jan. 3, according to court documents.
Kasacek said Lin "apparently did not comply" with those conditions.
Dead, starving
Photographs submitted to the court show piles of dead birds outside the buildings, crowds of chickens trying to get food from an empty container and dead birds in the same area as live birds.
Brooklyn First Selectman Austin Tanner said he had not received any complaints from neighbors about Lin's operations, but he said he had received calls from the state agriculture department and knew of the ongoing investigation. A farmer himself, Tanner said the events at the Tripp Hollow farm are "very unfortunate."
"With farmers, generally the reason they farm is because they have a passion for animals, and every once in a while you run into a case like this," Tanner said. "I think the Department of Agriculture is handling it correctly by stepping in."
Case UpdatesTang Quan "Jason" Lin, the owner of Sunrise Poultry in Brooklyn where 2,551 chickens were seized and euthanized earlier this month, was released on bond Friday, according to the state Department of Agriculture.
Lin faces a total of 40 charges of animal cruelty, violation of disease prevention and importation regulations and failure to dispose of dead poultry.
His next scheduled appearance in Danielson Superior Court is Feb. 3. | Source: norwichbulletin.com - Jan 21, 2011
Update posted on Jan 23, 2011 - 11:43PM |
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