Case Details

Neglect - 80 birds, 2 pigs and a calf
Palermo, ME (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Aug 29, 2003
County: Waldo
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Scott Pilsbury

Case ID: 1739
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: bird (pet), pig, cow
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Scott Pilsbury, the Palermo man charged with cruelty to the animals he kept outside his mobile home, is to be arraigned Oct. 7 in Belfast district court.

Pilsbury, 36, was charged with two counts of criminal animal cruelty after Peter Cote, Palermo's animal control officer, stumbled on an assortment of about 80 birds, two pigs, and a calf deprived of water, food or proper housing at Pilsbury's isolated North Palermo Road home last Friday.

"Many of the animals were just running around," said Cote. "Some were penned."

About 10 wood-and-wire pens lined Pilsbury's driveway, according to Cote. Few had roofs. The calf and pigs were fenced in, while the birds roamed freely.

Cote estimated he saw four or five dead animals on the grounds �which measure roughly an acre �when he arrived to deliver a warning about having an unlicensed dog. On Wednesday, after spending hours trying to persuade Pilsbury to give up his animals, state wardens charged Pilsbury with violating his bird-keeping permit. Maine's Department of Agriculture charged him with animal cruelty.

The two pigs have since died, but the other rescued animals are recovering well, say animal welfare officers.

For now, state wardens are giving Pilsbury a second chance. They will re-inspect Pilsbury's home today to see if he has updated the living environment to state-sanctioned standards for some birds that remain under his care.

But it is possible that Pilsbury may lose more than a second chance.

"If we get a conviction, we can request he no longer own animals," said Bentley Rathbun, an animal welfare humane agent with the agriculture department. "We can also request jail. The option is there, but I've not decided yet."

The free-ranging birds did not escape their abuse because of the memory of food.

"Domestic animals will come back to where they've been fed, even if they've just been fed occasionally," said Cote.

Each count of animal cruelty attracts a maximum fine of $2,500 for a first-time conviction. Violating a warden's permit invites a $1,000 maximum fine, according to Maine's statutes.

Pilsbury has never been charged with animal cruelty before, but district attorney records show previous convictions for unlawful possession of scheduled drugs, assault, operating under the influence, and keeping an unlicensed dog. He has pending cases in Skowhegan's district court for operating after suspension and attaching false identification plates to his motor vehicle.

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References

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