Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: 953 violations of AWA, failure to provide vet care

953 violations of AWA, failure to provide vet care
Akron, OH (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Jan 31, 2006
County: Summit
Local Map: available
Disposition: USDA Citation

Person of Interest: Lorenza Pearson

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Case ID: 9011

Classification: Hoarding, Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: captive exotic

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Child or elder neglect

The owner of an exotic animal farm on June 20 will face federal officials who claim he committed 953 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Lorenza Pearson, owner of the L&L Exotic Animal Farm in Copley Township, will face U.S. Department of Agriculture officials in Summit County court.

Pearson, who needs a federal license to exhibit exotic animals, could lose that license and be fined up to $2,500 each time he is found in violation.

Pearson was in the news in May 2006 when a fire blamed on a space heater destroyed his house. Two tiger cubs, a bear cub, two iguanas and some small birds died.

The alleged violations date to 1997, and many concern lack of veterinary care and adequate structures for the animals.

``Many of these -- and other -- violations continue to this day,'' according to the USDA complaint filed in March.

The USDA notes that Pearson has owned anywhere from 26 to 82 animals at the times he sought renewal of his USDA license.

As recently as February 2006, Pearson had 18 animals -- eight bears, three white tigers, three ``orange'' tigers, two lions, one black leopard and one cougar at his Columbus Avenue property.

County officials initiated action that led to the removal of 29 animals in June 2004, while the USDA removed seven bears in May 2005.

Failure to provide veterinary care to the bears was among the reasons the USDA seized them, according to the complaint.

Many of the 119 alleged violations of veterinary care standards appear to deal with record keeping, but in one instance, the USDA claims Pearson didn't get a veterinarian to treat a tiger with a lame hind leg.

He also didn't watch the animals on a daily basis, according to the USDA, and in January 2001 he was unaware that one of his tigers had died.

The USDA found fault with structures and fences on the property.

In February, the USDA found holes in the perimeter fences that surrounded the enclosures of six tigers.

Sometimes the animals were in danger, according to the USDA. The USDA also claims that cages had protruding wires that could hurt animals, and that between 1997 and 2001, some animals -- including tigers and lions -- were in enclosures that were too small for normal posture and for freedom of movement.

Food could be bad, too, the USDA claimed. It said that in June 2000 Pearson provided ``old decaying food contaminated with maggots'' to 26 tigers and lions.

As for Pearson, losing his home has been difficult, said his lawyer, William Whitaker. But he has been working hard, he said, and someone is always on site to take care of the remaining animals living behind the burned house.

Case Updates

A federal administrative judge has stripped the license to exhibit or sell exotic animals from a man who operates a farm in suburban Akron, calling conditions at the farm deplorable.

However, the judge did not force Lorenza Pearson to give up his lions, tigers, bears and other animals and did not levy a $100,000 fine sought by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Judge Victor Palmer, in his April 6 order pulling Pearson's license, said basic hygiene and sanitation were absent from the L&L Exotic Animal Farm. When water sources froze in the winter, the animals had nothing to drink, Palmer wrote.

Drainage was so poor in the animals' pens that they endured staying wet, and when hibernating bears were jarred awake, there was no food for them, the order said.

Inspectors cited Pearson "because of the deplorable conditions that existed at his animal farm," Palmer wrote. The order permanently disqualifies Pearson from obtaining another license.

Pearson will appeal the judge's order, attorney William Whitaker said Saturday. If an administrative appeal fails, Pearson will take the matter to U.S. District Court, Whitaker said.

The attorney said that Pearson has the pens cleaned two or three times a day and that a veterinarian is available full time.

"He runs a very caring and competent farm. The findings by the law judge are contradicted by the facts presented at the hearing," Whitaker said.

At Pearson's hearing last June, lawyers from the USDA presented evidence of more than 900 alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act. A USDA inspector testified that during a visit he noted the only food for 10 large cats was a dead animal contaminated with dirt and feces.

Authorities removed 29 animals from Pearson's complex in 2004, including 15 tigers and eight lions.

Judge Palmer cited Pearson for 26 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act between Jan. 5, 2000, and Feb. 22, 2006.

Palmer rejected Pearson's defense that his problems with federal inspectors stemmed from his failure to cooperate with a veterinarian in an investigation of another exotic-animal exhibitor. That led federal inspectors to seek revenge against him through repeated inspections, he claimed.

Between 1999 and 2005, Pearson had as many as 82 animals at the same time - mostly exotic cats and bears, Palmer said in his report.

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer - April 15, 2007
Update posted on Apr 16, 2007 - 10:14AM

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July 24, 2002: According to the Akron Beacon Journal, a county judge granted permission to local officials to carry weapons while inspecting L&L Exotic Animal Farm. Inspectors were concerned about �possible attacks by the dozens of lions, tigers, alligators and bears housed at the farm.�

June 26, 2002: According to the Akron Beacon Journal, "L&L Exotic Animal Farm has been cited as a public health nuisance by the Summit County Health Department. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture has filed 47 charges about unclean, unsafe quarters for the animals. � [Authorities] were appalled by what they found-animal skeletons strewn about the property and a pool of blood in the shed that Pearson used to butcher horses and cows for his menagerie. "[A]nimal waste dumped in trash receptacles wasn't cleared often enough, there was no good way to clear urine from the cages and Pearson has provided no evidence that the animals have been vaccinated."

The article also reported that the Summit County Children Services Board took three children living in Pearson's dilapidated home, which had a boarded-up window and whose roof appeared to be falling down.

April 23, 2002: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to correct previously identified violations of not maintaining enclosures and perimeter fencing. Lion cages were in serious disrepair, and perimeter fencing around cages for the bears and leopards was not secure. L&L was cited for failure to provide adequate veterinary care to a female lion with a nasal discharge and a tiger cub with abrasions on the nose, inadequate drainage around the lion cages and slaughtering facility, urine-soaked and foul-smelling lion cages, failure to adequately separate incompatible animals, and failure to maintain transport trailers that were rusty, had a broken door and sharp metal protrusions, and could permit exhaust fumes to enter the trailer.

November 20, 2001: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to maintain enclosures and perimeter fencing.

July 26, 2001: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to use a properly constructed transport cage.

June 19, 2001: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to correct a previously identified violation of not providing adequate veterinary care. The inspector discovered a mountain lion who was drooling excessively and had an abscess on the side of her face and a female bear with head injuries. No one at L&L was aware of these conditions before the inspector observed them. L&L was also cited for damaged walls in the lions� dens and poor housekeeping.

March 8, 2001: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to correct previously identified violations of not providing adequate ventilation in a lion enclosure with a strong ammonia order, not feeding or providing veterinary care to bears �denned up� since November 2000, not providing animals with drinking water, and inadequate drainage.

January 31, 2001: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to provide immediate veterinary care to animals identified as being seriously ill during the previous inspection. L&L was also cited for failure to correct previously identified violations of inadequate perimeter fencing, inadequate and unsanitary feeding, insufficient watering, filthy, foul-smelling, wet enclosures, inadequate drainage, and failure to have medical records.

L&L was also cited for poor housekeeping and inadequate pest control.

January 29, 2001: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to correct previously identified violations of not having adequate perimeter fencing, not providing adequate shelter to protect a lion cub and two cougars from inclement weather, inadequate and unsanitary feeding, filthy enclosures, housing predator and prey animals in close proximity, inadequate records, inadequate drainage, and not providing minimum space to two cougars housed in a transport trailer, a lion housed in a travel enclosure that also had no shelter from the elements, and at least one bear kept in an container "so small that it [was] impossible for the animal to stand up, turn around, or even approach normal postural adjustments."

The inspector wrote, "Animals are being fed food on the extremely contaminated ground. The enclosures have old carcasses, feces, and urine all over. A dead cow [who] is going to be butchered and used for large cat feed has been sewn up, and it�s not clear what [she] died of. [Her] head was half-missing."

"There is an excessive buildup of wet bedding, feces, bones, feed waste, and debris. " Many animals were wet and uncomfortable."

"The juvenile lions were housed in an open travel enclosure that had no protection from the weather. " This animal was extremely wet and miserable."

L&L was also cited for failure to provide veterinary care. There was a juvenile mountain lion who was very ill, lame, and had an abscess on the left hind leg. The inspector wrote, "The animal was thin to the point of emaciation. [The mountain lion] also appeared to be blind. This animal does not have adequate shelter from the elements. � [The mountain lion] was wet and could not stay dry and clean. This animal requires immediate veterinary care if it is going to live."

Two male lions in a pen containing five lions were very thin, dirty, and wet, and one was lame. The female lion's feet were very tender. There were very loose stools evident in the pen. The inspector wrote, "These animals are in immediate need of care to protect their lives."

There was a rabbit with an eye that was almost swollen shut.

There was no date or cause of death recorded for several animals who died in 2000, including a badger, a llama, a leopard, a bear, a lion, and a jaguar. There was a dead tiger in one pen, and no one was sure when the animal died. The 11 "denned" bears were sealed in containers so that they could not be fed, watered, observed, or provided emergency care since November 2000.

There were no records to show that any of the required treatments, dewormings, fecal exams, or vaccinations were occurring.

The USDA cited L&L for failure to have a complete program of veterinary care, failure to have a sufficient number of knowledgeable employees to care for the animals, improper food and bedding storage, inadequate pest control, and failure to provide drinking water to any of the animals. Several animals were so thirsty that they were licking the snow and ice.

September 8, 2000: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to have a responsible person available so that an inspection could be performed.

July 19, 2000: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to correct previously identified violations of not providing minimum space for two adult lions, two adult tigers, and a jaguar.

L&L was also cited for failure to maintain a transport vehicle that had bald tires.

June 12, 2000: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for feeding tigers and lions maggot-infested food and failure to maintain facilities.

February 17, 2000: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to have adequate perimeter fencing around potentially dangerous animals.

January 5, 2000: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to correct a previously identified violation of not providing minimum space to three tigers. The inspector wrote, "These three tigers have been living in these conditions since early September of 1999."

September 18, 1999: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to have a program of veterinary care and failure to provide veterinary care and adequate food to two emaciated 7-week-old lion cubs with scrapes on their faces and legs. The inspector wrote, "They were very thin and not at all healthy-looking. � These animals require veterinary care and should not be on exhibit."

L&L was cited for failure to provide veterinary care to a young camel who was suffering discomfort from a badly matted and burred coat, failure to have records of the source and ownership of two camels, seven tigers, and three lions, failure to maintain the camel pen in a manner that would prevent serious injury, inadequate transport enclosures, and failure to provide minimum space to an adult lion and three adult tigers who were stored in the travel trailer. The inspector wrote, "The lion, especially, was exhibiting stereotypic behaviors."

September 9, 1999: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to maintain enclosures for two adult tigers, a bobcat, and a fox, failure to provide minimum space to an adult tiger housed in a small trailer, and an unsanitary transport trailer.

May 12, 1999: The USDA cited L&L Exotic Animal Farm for failure to provide adequate veterinary care to two lion cubs with injuries to their noses caused by transport.

November 19, 1992: A State Highway Patrol lieutenant shot and killed Lorenzo Pearson's jaguar after the animal chewed through the bars and escaped from a cage on the back of a pickup truck. Pearson had instructed the officer to kill the jaguar "because of the viciousness of the animal." Pearson was returning from an auction with two jaguars and a cougar he had just purchased.

December 9, 1983: Lorenzo Pearson's 2-year-old son was attacked and killed by one of Pearson's "pet" tigers. The 16-month-old tiger had been kept in a room with a dirt floor adjacent to the family's kitchen, along with two lions, a wolf, and a bear. The tiger chased the child into a bedroom and mauled the boy. Pearson was also bitten when he beat the tiger over the head with a hammer until the child was released. Police later killed the tiger.

Pearson was indicted on charges of child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter. A Summit County judge dismissed the charges because there was no local law that prohibited keeping wild animals.

Source: WildlifePimps.Com
Update posted on Jun 17, 2006 - 9:25AM

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References

	USDA License: 31-C-0034
	WildlifePimps.Com
	CWAP - May 25, 2006
	The Sun News - June 1, 2006
	Beacon Journal

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953 violations of AWA, failure to provide vet careAkron, OH (US)

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953 violations of AWA, failure to provide vet care
Akron, OH (US)