700 cats seized at Fla. "sanctuary" featured on Colbert Report
"No cats turned away." Should be the words when applied to any so-called shelter that set off alarm bells to anyone truly concerned about animal welfare.
700 cats seized at Fla. "sanctuary" featured on Colbert Report
Amy Worden, Inquirer Staff Writer
"No cats turned away."
Words that ought to set off alarm bells to anyone truly concerned about animal welfare.
Is the idea of a place where the hundreds of unwanted stray and feral cats can live out their lives in peace too good to be true?
Sadly, yes.
I thought that might be the case when I first heard about Caboodle Ranch several years ago, but I, like many others, was sucked in by kitty playground the owner had built with his own hands on his 30-acre spread in northwest Florida.
Today authorities raided Caboodle Ranch, once featured on "The Colbert Report," removing 700 cats and charging owner with a felony county of animal cruelty.
Craig Grant, 63, also is facing three misdemeanor counts of cruelty and one count of fraud and is being held on $250,000 bond.
Caboodle Ranch was eye candy for the national media, shaded paths, ponds, rows of brightly-painted cathouses and treehouses- a mini-kitty city where cats could presumably while away their time lounging in the Florida sun.
On his website Grant describes the property as a "permanent sanctuary for cats who have been kicked around by heartless people." He states all the cats are up-to-date on vaccinations and get seen regularly by a vet.
The reality was very different, according to investigators.
Video footage taken by an investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, shows cats suffering from upper-respiratory infections so severe that the animals gasped for air and struggled to breathe, as mucus dripped from their noses
"Cats at Caboodle Ranch suffered from open wounds, debilitating respiratory disease, parasites, eye ulcerations, and more," says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "'No-kill' was really 'slow-kill' for hundreds of cats in this grossly inhumane 'cat ranch.'"
Tim Rickey, senior director of the ASPCA’s Field Investigations and Response team, called the situation "tragic."
“Caboodle Ranch was clearly overwhelmed with hundreds of cats in dire need of medical treatment, and the sanctuary had no adoption program or any spay/neuter efforts to effectively manage its current population," said Rickey, of the group's largest-ever cat seizure in one location. "The ASPCA’s goal is to work quickly to remove these cats from the property and safely transport them to the temporary shelter, where they will be triaged by a veterinary team.”
Dozens of animal rescuers and rescue groups from as far away as California are assisting in the operation.
For Pennsylvania animal lovers, word of the horrific conditions at Caboodle Ranch brought back nightmarish images of Tiger Ranch, the Pittsburgh-area facility which proclaimed itself a refuge for abandoned felines, taking in cats from all over the East Coast.
But Tiger Ranch it turned out was a one-way ticket to more misery for these poor animals.
In 2008, the PSPCA raided the property, seizing 500 cats living in squalor most of them diseased or injured. Large burial pits were found on the property. Its owner, Linda Bruno, aka Lin Marie, was convicted of multiple counts of animal cruelty, spent several months in jail and was ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution to the PSPCA.
PETA's undercover video of Caboodle Ranch posted here. (Warning: Contains disturbing images.)
It is truly shameful that this disreputable hoarder labeled himself a "rescuer" of cats when the undercover video I watched at PETA.org made it quite apparent that countless cats were suffering as a result of his negligence and failure to provide even minimal veterinary care. Kudos to PETA for exposing this fraud.— jsbeckham- When I saw Caboodle Ranch on TV last year, it looked like a beautiful village for cats. Wow! Your article says that the owner of Tiger Ranch in Pennsylvania was convicted of several counts of animal cruelty and spent several months in prison. Several months? These people should spend several YEARS in prison. Our justice system with regard to animals needs to be revised.— Loretka
- This is what No Kill has unfortunately become. No Kill gave up on their goal of increasing spaying and neutering and lowering the birth rate, and instead started promoting warehousing and hoarding. Unfortunately No Kill has become Slow Kill, and zealots seem to always have an excuse for the worst kind of animal abuse in the name of No Kill. It's worse than puppy mills!— keyjeen
- This case speaks to "no-kill" sheltering's complete inadequacy and ineffectiveness. That this man (and so many others like him, this facility is not the exception) thought it was better for cats to suffer and die on his watch than to be adopted out to homes where their individual wants and needs could be met is truly shocking, and his refusal to seek veterinary care for the dying cats is criminal. I'm so glad that there are organizations like PETA that go in to sham organizations like this and expose them for what they really are.— jaspercat
- The public is all-too ready to turn a blind eye to what's really going on in these so-called "sanctuaries" because we want to convince ourselves that someone else is taking care of the problem. People dump animals who have become "inconvenient" on someone else and tell themselves that "all is well." This sickening cycle of overpopulation must come to and end, or these kinds of exposes will continue. Thank you to PETA for another significant investigation.— stkittchick
- Thank you, PETA, for uncovering another nightmare for animals caused by the "no kill" movement. People screaming "no kill" are not thinking of the animals who suffer when euthanasia is removed from their options. If they really cared, they would be using their energy and resources to prevent animal homelessness in the first place by getting animals spayed and neutered. The public needs to see more of the animals who are harmed when people scream to "stop the killing" at open-admission animal shelters, where real heroes humanely address the issue around the clock. "Sanctuaries" and "rescues" are all scams and frauds in my opinion. Thank you for all you do to wake people up!— TLC7777
- Thank you, PETA, for blowing the lid off this horrific place and ensuring that the cats who have suffered there for so long are rescued. This is a prime example of why "no-kill" policies can translate into hell on earth for animals. Please never take animals to a so-called "no-kill" shelter. Support open-admission shelters that put animals' best interests first.— Lucy P
- Unfortunately situation's like this are frighteningly common in so many "no-kill" shelters and "sanctuaries". There are worst fates (as many of these cats sadly experienced) than a painless and quick euthanasia at the hands of kind and trained technicians. Thank you for truly saving these cats, PETA, and for exposing this hellhole!— Leigh444
- PETA has been trying to get this place closed for years and couldn't find anything until now. They never liked this place and wanted to get rid of it regardless if there was a problem. The neighbors haven't been to kind to it as well. It's really sad that I imagine at one point everything was fine but after there was national exposure the owner got completely overwhelmed, not wanting to turn away any cat.
Maybe the ASPCA and PETA could have helped this place before things got bad rather than keep on trying to close it before anything was wrong.
PETA is a radical organization is more into its agenda rather than actually helping animals.— Michael Louis - This is so sad. I feel bad not only for the animals who suffered, but also the poor girl who had to sit back and watch them suffer day after day. No doubt this place would still be in operation if she didn't take the footage.— JennBarks
- It is horrifying when people who claim to love animals do such horrible things. I'm so glad PETA stepped in and worked with local officials to rescue these cats!— MissKatie
- If more people would just spay and neuter their animals, we wouldn't so many homelss cats in horrible situations. Hoarders and so-called no-kill shelters only make the problem worse. Adopt animals, don't buy them and have them sterilized. Until then, homeless animals must be mercifully euthanized at shelters. Warehousing them in terrible places like this "sanctuary" is not humane.— ElaineS
- You lost me when you said PETA was involved. PETA is no where near ethical and kills over 80% of the animals brought to their shelters. You want to talk about extremes, this was an extreme case where someone with good intentions got overwhelmed and PETA is the other extreme, deciding just to kill without reason. Do not buy into PETA's rhetoric. They are an organization that makes millions of dollars and instead of helping animals they kill almost all of the ones they are supposed to be 'helping'.— scargosun
- Scargosun, PETA turns adoptable animals over to shelters so they will be seen and have a better chance at adoption than they would at the PETA offices. (There are no PETA "shelters.") The ones they euthanize are the animals who have been so abused and neglected by cruel people that they are too sick, injured, aggressive, or terrified to have a chance at a normal, happy life. No one enjoys euthanasia, least of all the people who have to do it, but until people stop animal cruelty and practice spaying and neutering, it will be reality.— fashionfan
- Fashionfan: Sorry to disappoint you but Scargosun is correct!! You sound like a naive youngster who has been brainwashed by PETA. I've been an activist/advocate for animals for 41yrs & I, too, was once a huge supporter of PETA. If you think PETA only kills those too sick, injured, aggressive or terrified, then you need to do some research on the org. Are you aware of the healthy animals PETA killed several years ago in the back of a van & then threw their bodies in a dumpster in the Carolinas? That's when I lost my faith in them. After years of defending them & their strange tactics to attract attention & protesting with Ingrid at NIH in DC during anti-vivisection week, I felt betrayed. And the lies they told the people & the vet in Carolina....sure, they'd find homes for the animals. All the while, they were sitting on MILLIONS of $$$. Kid, do yourself a favor & check out PETA's euthanasia rate vs their adoption rate. Don't put all your faith in them because somewhere down the line, you'll get smacked in the face with the truth....just like I did.— Ravens Fan
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