5,000 animals seized from pet store
Lockport, NY (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jul 11, 2006
County: Niagara
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Dismissed (Conditional)
Person of Interest: Fred Kick
Case Updates: 6 update(s) available
A complaint about some illegal, exotic reptiles spurred an all-day raid of Pets Plus on West Avenue.
Members of the Erie County SPCA animal rescue team and animal security investigators searched through the store Tuesday, looking for signs of animal cruelty and illegal animals.
The SPCA got a call from the Department of Environmental Conservation over the weekend, said SPCA spokeswoman Gina Browning
"The initial complaint was that there were illegal animals held here, exotics," Browning said. "The DEC arrived on the scene this weekend and raised concerns about animal cruelty issues."
She said the store was told to clean up its act. Meanwhile, a search warrant was obtained with the help of Judge Peter L. Broderick Sr. and First Assistant District Attorney Timothy R. Lundquist.
Inside, investigators found some illegal pets and poor conditions. A number of large constrictors and monitors were discovered in the search, said Joel Thomas, the Erie County SPCA's wildlife administrator. Some of these animals were illegal to possess in New York.
"There were more animals there than I have ever seen," Thomas said. "Some animals were not in healthy conditions. They had chronic and life-threatening diseases."
SPCA officials estimated the total animal count at between 5,000 to 8,000, including reptiles and amphibians that were being bred on the second floor. Not all of the animals were deemed sick or neglected by veterinarians sent over from the Buffalo Zoo.
Thomas said some of the cages were dirty and littered with feces. Some animals had not been fed or had their cages cleaned, information backed up by the store's own cleaning logs for each animal.
Some of the most serious cases were seized Tuesday by the SPCA for immediate treatment. Among the transported animals, there were three crested geckos, a vine python, an Argus monitor with a serious infection and a dehydrated chameleon.
Other animals who the SPCA deemed important to the investigation received red tags on their cages. Browning said one of the frogs was so sick that it could barely move. It is not clear if the animal survived.
Thomas said the most sickly and dangerous patient is a large crocodile monitor, who has a large mass on its left front leg and has been deemed septic. The 8-foot reptile, whose tail and sharp teeth and claws can cause serious injury to humans, lives in its own room. Caretakers will have to remove the animal carefully so it can undergo surgery this week.
Animal cruelty at pet stores is nothing new for Thomas, but Pets Plus was another situation.
"I have seen bad pet store cases before, but not with this many animals," Thomas said.
Store co-owner Fred Kick said the complaints were brought forth by a former clerk.
"We have a disgruntled employee who stole from us and was fired last week," Kick said. "We don't have any problems."
Kick said the accusations about illegal pets came from a paperwork mix-up. In order to comply with a change in the law regarding certain animals, Kick said the store had to put in an application to the DEC last year for some of its snakes and lizards. The store, which had been selling the creatures for 10 years, was supposed to be exempt from the law, he said.
To date, Kick said he has not received word back from the application he submitted. He said the most recent DEC store evaluation deemed Pets Plus "satisfactory."
Kick is planning to press charges against the employee, who was accused of stealing items and pets and reselling them.
The complaints made to the DEC will live on for now. A DEC representative said the agency had nothing to do with the raid, but may play a part in the upcoming investigation.
"If information is brought forward involving substantive charges, we will look into it further," spokesman Megan Gollwitzer said.
SPCA officials said no charges have been raised against the store yet.
No business was done during the raid; customers looking for pet food and dog tags were turned away.
If the store is to be shut down, it would be at the behest of the USDA. Browning said the agency has not yet made that determination. SPCA Investigators are expected to return to the store to continue screening and seizing animals.
But in the meantime, Kick said, it will be "business as usual" at Pets Plus.
Case UpdatesPets Plus underwent its first quarterly inspection in early November. Niagara County SPCA executive director Albert Chille said he was taken through all areas of the building and didn't find any evidence of wrongdoing. Chille will return to the store around early February for another inspection.
Kick said the store's business is coming back slowly. He is still discussing the possibility of a lawsuit with Muscato. | Source: Lockport Journal - Dec 28, 2006
Update posted on Dec 28, 2006 - 1:35PM |
The owner of a Lockport pet store now has dozens of his animals back. The Erie County S.P.C.A. had seized nearly 200 sick lizards, snakes, turtles and other reptiles from Pets Plus last month -- as well as many others that were already dead. But a judge is giving the store time to clean up its act.
Six and a half weeks after his Lockport pet store was raided by S.P.C.A. investigators, Fred Kick arrived at the Tonawanda animal shelter...to take back 87 animals. But the S.P.C.A. is keeping 72 reptiles -- animals that still need medical care. Yet Pets Plus is now pointing fingers at the S.P.C.A. The agency's director isn't surprised by the accusation. Dave Armbruster, Manager, Pets Plus: "They don't have anybody here that is an expert on anything as far as reptiles." Barbara Carr, Executive Director, Erie County S.P.C.A. "We have several experts who have been working on this case. These are defendants in a criminal case and they're mad at us."
Pets Plus will reimburse the S.P.C.A. $1,350 dollars... half the cost of caring for the animals. Fred Kick will not serve jail time. Barbara Carr says that's for the best. "There would be no probation on a misdemeanor charge. There'd be no ability to keep our eye on things that are going on." Armbruster: "Everything has been reorganized and redone. We're just going to make sure that everything is taken in and cleaned and checked and constantly taken care of."
The Niagara County S.P.C.A. has the right to perform unannounced inspections at Pets Plus for the next three years. If everything's okay after six months, charges against Kick will be dropped. But if the S.P.C.A. finds problems again... he will face 36 counts of animal cruelty. | Source: WKBW - Aug 25, 2006
Update posted on Aug 31, 2006 - 3:36PM |
A six-week-long battle over alleged animal cruelty at Pets Plus has ended.
The Niagara County District Attorney's Office, Erie County SPCA and Pets Plus counsel reached a settlement Thursday in Lockport City Court.
The deal will dismiss the 36 animal cruelty charges against the pet store as long as the corporate entity is not charged with anything else within the next six months. The store will be getting 87 of its animals back with housing tomorrow but will have to give up 72 of them to the SPCA.
SPCA general counsel Becky Powell said the store also will pay $1,350 for the care of the animals and will have quarterly inspections of the store for three years, led by the Niagara County SPCA.
Thursday's court date was originally supposed to include a hearing on the amount Pets Plus should pay for the care of the seized creatures.
Powell said the settlement will satisfy the case.
"The goal of this is to do right for the animals," Powell said. "We realized a way to work this out."
About 200 reptiles and amphibians were seized July 11 from the West Avenue store by the Erie County SPCA after the Department of Environmental Conservation received a complaint about illegal exotic animals. On July 28, Pets Plus was charged with 36 counts of animal cruelty.
Representatives of the SPCA and Pets Plus seemed happy with Thursday's outcome, but for very different reasons.
"We are not here to be unfair to animals or business owners," Powell said. "We often ask for forfeiture and visitation. We just want the best for the animals."
Powell said the Erie SPCA is planning to train its Niagara sister on what to look for during upcoming animal cruelty inspections. Erie County SPCA spokesman Gina Browning said the group will continue to care for the 72 animals they deemed the sickest.
The SPCA has continued to receive calls about the creatures, Browning added.
Pets Plus co-owner Fred Kick and attorney George V.C. Muscato considered the settlement a victory.
"If we were running such a bad operation, why not prosecute us further," Muscato said.
Kick said the creatures that are being returned are valued at $15,500. He claims many of the geckos and tree frogs the SPCA is keeping arrived a few days before the raid from Indonesia.
"They aren't perfect when they come in," Kick said. "We have to worm them, re-hydrate them and get them ready to sell."
Each of the 36 charges represent one animal that SPCA employees deemed ill. Kick said he did not believe anyone who said the creatures were unhealthy had enough reptile knowledge to discern their true conditions.
Both reptile specialist and temporary Erie County SPCA employee David Smith and Joel Thomas, the Erie County SPCA's wildlife administrator and a state-licensed veterinarian technician, gave supporting depositions in the case. A Buffalo Zoo veterinarian also has been working with the SPCA to care for the animals.
As for the creatures that were "red-tagged" to stay in place at the store, neither Kick nor Browning knew what the DEC was planning to next. Kick said he received a call from the DEC saying the animals marked as illegal were targeted incorrectly because the store keeps them for sale, not as pets.
"We have nothing illegal in our facility," Kick said.
Kick said he often sells the animals in other states where the pets are legal to own.
Muscato said he is pleased that the Niagara County SPCA will be handling the quarterly inspections because the store is within the same county. Jurisdiction was one of the topics the attorneys were set to discuss with Judge William J. Watson.
The Niagara County group was originally called on the Pets Plus case, but the agency would not have been able to handle the number of reptiles that were seized. Executive director Albert J. Chille has previously said he gave permission to the Erie County group.
Now that the criminal case against the store is finished, Kick said he is ready to celebrate.
"I'm going to Disneyland and I'm taking George (Muscato) with me," Kick said. | Source: Lockport Union & Sun Journal - July 13, 2006
Update posted on Aug 25, 2006 - 10:33AM |
The Niagara County District Attorney's office on Friday levied 36 charges of animal cruelty against the Pets Plus store on West Avenue.
First Assistant District Attorney Timothy R. Lundquist said the department's investigation found that several of the animals seized in the raid earlier this month weren't receiving the proper care.
"The investigation determined that there were animals on the premises that had not received sufficient food and water or veterinary care," he said. "(It found) that some of them were emaciated, others were in need of immediate veterinary care and some of the animals died as a result of care that was being provided."
The charges are filed against the store's corporate entity, not against any of its owners personally.
The matter is next scheduled for a court date Aug. 7. George V.C. Muscato, the attorney for Pets Plus, argued in City Court on Thursday that the warrant used to execute the search was illegal because it wasn't signed by a city judge. He has also taken umbrage with the prosecution's interpretation of the agriculture and markets law, which Muscato said requires the suspects be charged with cruelty before a warrant be issued.
The SPCA filed an affidavit earlier in the week stating that the store was not treating the animals properly.
SPCA officials couldn't be reached for comment Friday.
Muscato took issue with the charges, saying that his clients provided nothing but the best care to the animals on the premises.
"They have to prove that they treated the animals inhumanely," Muscato said. "They're never going to be able to do that because they got first-rate treatment."
Muscato, who previously called for investigators to either charge his clients or clear their names, said of the news, "It's about time."
He said he was prepared to offer a defense of his clients.
"We'll battle them out in court," he said. Muscato also continued his assault on the Erie County SPCA, which carried out the raids, saying the group "doesn't know what they're talking about."
SPCA investigators raided the store on July 11, removing dozens of reptiles that it said were in need of veterinary care. The actual number of animals seized has been disputed by Muscato.
A handful of the animals were euthanized. The others are being held at the SPCA's Tonawanda office as evidence while under a veterinarian's care.
Investigators said during the raid that it was among the worst scenes they'd come across. Video footage was taken from inside the store showing stacks of plastic shelves, each containing animals, an estimated 5,000 creatures in total. | Source: Lockport Union Sun & Journal - July 29, 2006
Update posted on Jul 29, 2006 - 10:05AM |
Staff at the Erie County SPCA are working 14 hours a day nursing back to health 300 reptiles and amphibians rescued Tuesday from life-threatening conditions in a Lockport pet warehouse.
Many are critically ill and all of them - including snakes, lizards, frogs and turtles - need medical attention, said Barbara Carr, executive director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
So far, the death count has been kept to one bullfrog that had to be euthanized, Carr said Friday.
"He was dying before our eyes," she said. "This is a tough case for us and certainly the largest reptile case we've ever had."
Five SPCA peace officers are wrapping up their investigation and charges are expected to be filed next week against Fred Kick, the owner of Pets Plus - Reptiles and Exotics, at 421 West Ave., Carr said.
At the time of the raid, Kick appeared briefly waving a piece of paper that he said was proof his pet shop had passed a state inspection. Carr said the inspection only covered the cats and dogs on the premises.
The SPCA has no authority to shut down Pets Plus, where it was business as usual Friday. Kick was preparing for a reptile show this weekend and was too busy to talk to the press, a shop clerk said.
The building was raided after investigators with the state Department of Environmental Conservation discovered an 8-foot-long crocodile monitor lizard being kept there illegally and alerted the SPCA to potential animal cruelty on the premises. The SPCA received a warrant signed Tuesday by Niagara County Judge Peter L. Broderick Sr. and Assistant District Attorney Timothy R. Lundquist.
Now, the SPCA is scrambling to find housing and proper aquariums for the rescued reptiles and amphibians who survive.
The crocodile monitor has a poisonous infection. It will be operated on at SPCA headquarters in the Town of Tonawanda next week by Dr. Frank Ridgely of the Buffalo Zoo.
Anyone who has purchased a sick pet or had a bad experience with Pets Plus has been asked to call the SPCA's main line at 875-7360.
The SPCA's last major reptile case involved the seizure in June of 90 geckos that had been abandoned in an apartment in Cheektowaga. The owner, who dropped out of sight, was selling them on the Internet, Carr said.
The geckos were sent to area reptile rescue groups that will try to find homes for them. | Source: Buffalo News - July 15, 2006
Update posted on Jul 17, 2006 - 6:32PM |
About 24 of 300 reptiles and amphibians seized from a West End pet store Tuesday were euthanized because of their advanced conditions, an Erie County SPCA representative said.
The SPCA workers have placed the other creatures in a wing of their Town of Tonawanda building, keeping them fed and hydrated after a raid of Pets Plus on West Avenue.
Members of the Erie County SPCA animal rescue team and animal security investigators spent most of Tuesday looking through the store after obtaining a search warrant. The group received a call from the Department of Environmental Conservation over the weekend concerning illegal exotic animals.
The call originally went to the Niagara County SPCA, although executive director Albert J. Chille said the agency had to decline.
"They thought they would take a number of reptiles, which could include poisonous snakes," Chille said. "We did not have the facility to do so."
Chille said the group gave permission to the Erie branch to help with the investigation.
Erie SPCA spokeswoman Gina Browning said they are equipped for reptiles, although 300 of them is a tall order.
"Many are still in their temporary enclosures," Browning said. "But the feces has been removed and they have food and water. Even though they are not immediately equipped, they are getting better care here."
The SPCA was originally expecting 10 animals based on an original estimate from the DEC. The count became much higher after animal cruelty officials saw the number of seriously ill creatures. Estimates range from 5,000 to 8,000 animals living in the building, including those that were being bred on the second floor.
Joel Thomas, the Erie County SPCA's wildlife administrator, said two of the animals were euthanized during Tuesday's search. One of the boa constrictors had a dangerous tumor and an American bullfrog suffered from a bacterial condition.
"It wasn't able to swim normally," Thomas said. "It was laying in filthy water."
A number of the animals, like the 8-foot-long crocodile monitor, are not legal to possess in New York, Thomas added.
Thomas said he doesn't think the SPCA will be removing more reptiles from the store. Those creatures who have been "red-tagged" will remain in the store and will be dealt with by the DEC. The rest will be cared for by in-house veterinarians and one from the Buffalo Zoo.
In the meantime, investigators will be taking note of the condition of the animals. Officer Charles Braun, an animal cruelty investigator with the Erie County SPCA, said the group will be creating an inventory of animals to give to the court.
Braun said the SPCA is seeking misdemeanor animal cruelty charges for unsanitary conditions and animals without proper medical care. The charges would be under the Department of Agriculture and Markets law.
While the investigation is going on, Pets Plus has been asked to do some cleaning in certain cages and consult a veterinarian for certain creatures. The store was open on Wednesday.
Store co-owner Fred Kick declined to comment Wednesday about the investigation.
Chille said the Niagara County SPCA has received complaints about Pets Plus in the past and investigated those claims. When problems were found, Chille said, they were either corrected immediately or within a short period of time. | Source: Lockport Union & Sun Journal - July 13, 2006
Update posted on Jul 13, 2006 - 9:30AM |
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