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Hoarding over 150 cats, many found dead and severely decayed
Methuen, MA (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Jul 18, 1998
County: Essex
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Beverley Hardacre
» John E Hardacre
Beverley Hardacre went on vacation knowing she left behind two dead cats.
"She said she hadn't gotten around to removing them," said Lt. Joseph E. Solomon, who spent about two hours talking with Mrs. Hardacre and her husband John E., at police headquarters yesterday when they returned from a weeklong stay in Maine.
John E. Hardacre returned home at about 6PM on July 18 night to find his Methuen house had been condemned while he was vacationing in Maine. He is reading the notice the town left on his door. Firefighters responding to a fire at the Hardacre's home at 90 Pelham St. Thursday discovered the remains of dead cats and more than 150 living cats crawling around in rubble throughout the house.
Mrs. Hardacre, 65, a science department chairman at Essex Agricultural and Technical Institute in Danvers, and Mr. Hardacre 69, a retired Dracut High physics teacher, were in Maine at the time of the fire. A Salem, N.H. man, who cared for the cats while the Hardacres were away notified the couple in Maine Friday night.
The couple appeared "very upset" and "in shock" yesterday, Lt. Solomon said. "She said she'll never have cats again," he said. The Hardacres could be charged with one count of animal cruelty per animal, said MSPCA Officer Martha Parkhurst, who also met with the Hardacres yesterday. Each charge carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine, she said.
Mrs. Hardacre maintained that there were only 28 cats and kittens when she left for vacation a week ago. "Apparently they (the cats) raised holy havoc," Mrs. Hardacre said of conditions inside the home.
Asked how she can explain the difference between her count and that of officials, she contends that a cellar filled with active cats can be deceiving. "I can assure you it looks like there are thousands," she said.
The house was condemned and the windows boarded up with plywood by the Methuen Health Department on Friday. A sign posted on the door read, "These premises unfit for human habitation."
Some of the cat carcasses discovered were so decayed that bones had turned to powder, indicating the animals had died at least a year ago. Others appeared to have been eaten by surviving cats. Using masks, boots, chainsaws, axes and wire cutters, public safety officials and the animal control officer removed the animals from inside walls and ceilings. Another 12 to 15 more cats were taken from the home July 18 in the afternoon.
MSPCA workers had baited humane traps with food to lure any cats left behind from their hiding places. Neighbors said a group of cats were seen outside the house early yesterday morning trying to get back inside.
The MSPCA spent several hours at the house yesterday. They plan to to check the house and property on a daily basis. "A large amount of man hours were put into the rescue of these animals," Lt. Solomon said.
The health department did receive a complaint about the strong smell of cat urine coming from the house on Nov. 6, 1991. The Hardacres were not fined, but ordered to clean and sanitize the cages.
Mrs. Hardacre, a "cat fancier" for years, had been in charge of the small animal science division at Essex Agricultural and Technical Institute in Danvers where she helped develop a cat grooming course.
"She seemed very knowledgeable," said Lt. Solomon, noting Mrs. Hardacre's detailed explanations about animal diseases and vaccines.
A co-worker of Mrs. Hardacre's said she was "heavy into cat breeding" and showing cats in the late 1970s and early 1980s. "I didn't sell them," Mrs. Hardacre said yesterday. "Most of those cats are old, except for the kittens. No one wants them."
The cause of the fire is still undetermined, but believed to be electrical. It appears to have started in the kitchen, at or near the electric stove, fire officials said. They are also looking into another fire at the Hardacre's home in 1989 that killed dozens of cats.
Mr. Hardacre yesterday that he was at a loss to explain how the fire started.
He told The Eagle-Tribune he placed a plastic laundry basket on the stove so that the cats could not get at the knobs and buttons.
"Knowing electricity as I do, I can't understand what happened," he said. "If we had left the stove on it certainly would have caught fire before Thursday." References |
