Case Details

Neglect of 1,800 birds during transportation
San Bernardino, CA (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, Jun 30, 2002
County: San Bernardino
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Efrain Espadas

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Case ID: 716
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: bird (pet)
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Efrain Espadas, 53, of Ontario was charged in July after a Humane Society officer walked into Espadas' business Adi's Pet Shop in the 1600 block of East Highland Avenue in San Bernardino and reportedly saw Espadas pulling hundreds of dead birds from his van.

The Humane Society of San Bernardino had been monitoring the business after suspicions of animal crowding were reported there.  Espadas is expected to appear in San Bernardino Superior Court Jan 28 for arraignment. His lawyer, Carlos Juarez of San Bernardino, said Espadas will plead not guilty.

PETA is demanding that Espadas be barred from ever owning, buying or selling animals.  In the letter to Dixon, PETA cruelty caseworker Martin Mesereau says that mental-health and law-enforcement professionals consider disregard for animal life and desensitization to suffering of animals to be a red flag for other criminal behavior.

"Experts agree that it is the severity of the behavior, not the species of the victim, that matters,' the letter says.

Espadas reportedly told the Humane Society officers that he purchased 2,163 birds, including parakeets, parrots and finches, from a man in Bakersfield and was driving them to San Bernardino in his van. Juarez said his client did not intend for the birds to die, a reason Judge Robert D. Macomber lowered the felony charge to a misdemeanor at a preliminary hearing last month.

"The court agreed with my position that the conduct was not felonious,' Juarez said. "People are writing letters without knowing the facts.'  Juarez said the man who sold Espada the birds was responsible for packing them and making sure they had water.

"That man forgot to put the water in the boxes for the birds,' Juarez said. "He has signed an affidavit that he forgot the water for the birds.'  Juarez said his client was distraught when he arrived in San Bernardino from Bakesfield and realized the birds were dying.

"He did everything possible to revive the birds,' Juarez said. "He gave them water. He called a vet down the street, but they were closed.'  There may have been some negligence on Espadas' part, Juarez said, but he did not mean to harm any animals.

"He had retired and invested his life savings into the store,' Juarez said. "He loved animals. He loved the birds. He said, 'Why would I kill these animals? I am making my livelihood off of them.' Espadas lost his business and his savings because the birds died and the criminal case was filed, Juarez said.

Espadas plans to take his case to trial so a jury can hear his side of the story, Juarez said. But Espadas might face an unfriendly jury. Dixon said he's received hundreds of letters from the public, including PETA's letter, insisting that Espadas should be locked up.

"We pursued the case as a felony because we felt it rose to more than mere negligence because of the large number of birds that died during transport,' Dixon said. "In these criminal cases, it's very tough to prove up a felony unless there was willful conduct like beating a bunch of dogs in the middle of the street or something like that.'

If Espadas is convicted of the felony, he will be ordered to pay a $20,000 fine, Dixon said.  PETA says that's not harsh enough.

"We were contacted by a lot of people in San Bernardino County who were outraged,' PETA's Martin Mesereau said. "We deal with countless cases of animal cruelty in our department and we take every one seriously. It's not often that nearly 2,000 animals in one fell swoop are killed due to the criminal negligence of one individual. It's beyond sad if the allegations are true.'  Mesereau said stupidity and error are not a good enough excuse for the crime.

"The pet trade industry has an abominable track record when it comes to animal welfare,' Mesereau said. "In fact, Espadas' business had been under scrutiny by authorities for some time.'

Mesereau said he doesn't believe Espadas is remorseful about what happened to the birds, otherwise he would have stopped during the trip to make sure they were OK. "Where was his conscience when he crammed all those birds into cardboard boxes in blazing temperatures?' Mesereau asked.

Case Updates

A new trial date has been set for California pet store owner Efrain Espadas. Espadas was charged with one count of felony animal cruelty after animal advocates in San Bernardino discovered hundreds of dead parakeets in his store, Adi's Pet Shop.

Espadas' trial is scheduled to begin March 12. To encourage the prosecutor to continue pursuing this case vigorously, send a letter to:

Kathy Relyea
San Bernardino County DA's Office
316 N. Mountainview Ave.
San Bernardino, CA 92415-0004
Update posted on Mar 1, 2004 - 5:01PM 

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References

San Bernadino Sun

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