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Case Snapshot

Case ID: 18633

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment, Other

Animal: captive exotic

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Tortoises seized
Highlands, NJ (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Sep 13, 2011
County: Monmouth

Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available

Alleged: Richard Hines

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

The mournful, "crying" sound had puzzled residents of a Highlands neighborhood all summer. It was such a strange, ghastly moan, they felt compelled to contact authorities.

When police went to investigate, they discovered the source was a 600-pound pet tortoise named Maximus, who was living with three other rare Aldabra tortoises on the back patio of a duplex. One of the other three reptiles weighed 125 pounds and the other two were 50 pounds each.

The four tortoises are expected to find a temporary home at Popcorn Park Zoo, and a veterinarian from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Stone Harbor is expected to examine the animals once they arrive at the facility in Lacey, Martiak explained.

In the meantime, owner Richard Hines has been charged with eight counts of animal cruelty, as well as possession of an exotic species without a permit.

Hines' wife, however, said the whole situation is a big misunderstanding. She said Maximus doesn't cry out because of sadness.

"It's a mating call," she said. "I've been listening to it for years. It's kind of a joke for us."

But it was not a joke to Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief humane law enforcement officer of the Monmouth County SPCA. He said the reptiles were malnourished, with silver dollar-sized holes in their shells coated over in Fiberglas.

"They were living in an improper shelter with no sun," Amato said of the tortoise pen on Grand Tour street. "These are desert tortoises. The owners had dug up these trenches for them when water is the worst thing in the world for them to be lying in. You've got a 600-pound animal that can only go five feet one way and five feet the other."

The African species of the Aldabra tortoise is the second-largest creature of its kind in the world, according to the Los Angeles Zoo website. Only the colossal reptiles of the Galapagos Islands are bigger.

"Finding animals of this size is certainly unusual," said Larry Ragonese of the state Department of Environmental Protection. "We'll periodically run into snakes or alligators, but Aldabra tortoises, that's something we don't have much experience with."

Ragonese said an animal conservation officer visited the Hines home on Sept. 1 and inspected the property.

"The state SPCA had gotten a call from some neighbors who said they saw some problems with these tortoises," said Ragonese. "They may have heard some noise, crying. They forwarded it to DEP because we oversee exotic animals."

The officer told the couple they needed to move the reptiles away from the patio and get them examined by a veterinarian. When he returned Tuesday, the conditions hadn't improved, Ragonese said.

"The tortoises still looked to be in bad shape, so we seized them," he said. "We loaded them up, got them off the property and they're now at the zoo. We'll nurse them back to health and the goal is to find them a permanent home."

Christina Hines said that she and her husband have owned Maximus and the other tortoises for more than 15 years. They purchased the reptiles from a California breeder and kept them at their home North Carolina before moving to Highlands this summer.

"We know these animals," she said. "They're perfectly happy wading in the water."

Maximus was moved to Popcorn Park in a horse trailer. Zoo manager John Bergmann lured the tortoise onto the vehicle with a piece of cactus, which the animals munch on for sustenance.

"It's the largest reptile we've taken in," Bergmann said. "We've had 8-foot lizards and some good-sized alligators, but this is the size of a coffee table."

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