Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Rescue cited under AWA

Rescue cited under AWA
Tampa, FL (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Jul 31, 1997
County: Hillsborough
Local Map: available
Disposition: USDA Citation

Person of Interest: Bert Allen Wahl, Jr

Case Updates: 4 update(s) available

Case ID: 6170

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: captive exotic

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Suspect was in animal welfare field

In August 1997, a U.S. Department of Agriculture administrative law judge found Bert Allen Wahl, Jr., doing business as Wildlife Rescue Inc. in Tampa, Fla., guilty of violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

"While Wahl was found guilty of violating the AWA, he cooperated in good faith and did not have a prior history of violations," said W. Ron DeHaven, acting deputy administrator for animal care with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a part of the marketing and regulatory programs mission area. "He was fined $1,000 and was issued a cease-and-desist order to prevent future violations."

Case Updates

On June 28, 2002, Bert Allen Wahl, Jr was arrested for one count of cruelty to animals.

Source: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department
Update posted on Nov 21, 2005 - 1:13AM

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When veterinarians examined a 16-year-old cougar called Old Man in late 2001, they found his rear feet so badly neglected they were on the verge of rotting off. The cougar, which had to be euthanized, belonged to controversial wildlife activist Bert Wahl, a man some authorities have long feared is more menace than friend to the animals he takes in.
As Wahl's animal cruelty trial began in Hillsborough County Court, prosecutor Martin Hernandez argued that Wahl was responsible for Old Man's death, that he beat the cat and deprived it of medicine.

Hernandez told the jury that Wahl beat the old cougar with his fists and a shoe, assaulted it with a broom handle and dragged it by the choker until it was unconscious. The cat's hindquarters became infected by dying tissue in the manner of gangrene, he said.
Public defender Mark Gilman countered that the cougar's gangrene-like condition was caused by a blood clot, and an expert found no evidence of trauma on the cat's body.
Wahl, 46, was housing Old Man at the Tampa residence of wildlife rehabilitation activist Sherie Frost. Testifying for the state, Frost said last Nov. 4 she saw Wahl twisting the cat's ear so badly it required stitches. Days later, she said, she saw Wahl punching the cat in the face, dragging it 25 feet and kicking it about the body, groin and head. When the cat's ear began bleeding, she said, Wahl starting mopping up the blood, but he turned on the cat again when it took the mop-end in its mouth. "He was trying to jam the mop down the cat's throat," Frost said, adding that Wahl later did the same with a broom.

Wahl, the founder of Wildlife Rescue Inc., an urban wildlife preserve, faces up to a year in jail, as well as a $5,000 fine, on a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty.
Ray Thunderhawk, who runs a big cat rescue facility in Sharpes, testified that it is only necessary to strike a cat if your life is at stake. At the prosecutor's request, Thunderhawk hauled one of his cougars to the courthouse Wednesday, a 200-pounder named Nunpa. The state intended to show the jury what a live, well-treated cougar looks like, but decided late in the day not to do so.

In the summer of 1994, Wahl was found guilty of abandoning a gopher tortoise at this Sulphur Springs wildlife preserve and of violating state regulations on housing otters. He got a year of probation for each of those charges. Closing arguments in his latest trial are expected to start this morning before County Judge Nick Nazaretian.

Source: St. Petersburg Times - June 27, 2002
Update posted on Nov 21, 2005 - 1:11AM

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On March 1, 2002, Wahl was arrested on 8 counts of abandoning an animal, 2 counts of illegally killing or possessing an alligator, 2 counts of maintaining wildlife in unsanitary conditions, 4 counts of personal possession of wildlife, 2 counts of violation of Dept of Environmental Affairs.

Source: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Update posted on Nov 21, 2005 - 12:56AM

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In August 2000, the U.S. Department of Agriculture charged Bert Allen Wahl Jr., doing business as Wildlife Rescue Inc. in Tampa, Fla., with violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

"While we currently have charges against Wahl in another case, we are charging him with new violations as we believe he has continued to operate without a license as required by law," said W. Ron DeHaven, deputy administrator for animal care with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a part of USDA's marketing and regulatory programs mission area.

Source: USDA - August 28, 2000
Update posted on Nov 21, 2005 - 12:45AM

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USDA - August 21, 1997

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Rescue cited under AWATampa, FL (US)

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Rescue cited under AWA
Tampa, FL (US)