Who's protecting the animals of Lancaster County? No one
Lancaster County is the epicenter for the state's dog breeding industry. It is home to the largest livestock auction East of the Mississippi and is likely home to more farm animals than any other county in Pennsylvania. It also now has no fulltime animal cruelty officer
Who's protecting the animals of Lancaster County? No one
Amy Worden, Inquirer Staff Writer
Lancaster County is the epicenter for the state's dog breeding industry. It is home to the largest livestock auction East of the Mississippi and is likely home to more farm animals than any other county in Pennsylvania.
It also now has no fulltime animal cruelty officer.
The Humane League of Lancaster County laid off one-third of its staff on Friday, among them, 18-year veteran Keith Mohler, the last cruelty officer they employed, the shelter spokeswoman, Mary Wallick said.
The move came on the same day the shelter began implementing its "no kill" policy and closed its doors to strays.
So the abused and neglected animals of Lancaster suffered a double whammy at once.
There is no one to call with cruelty complaints and no permanent shelter to take the animals picked up on the street or those that are the subject of cruelty investigations.
While the number of licensed commercial dog breeders has plummeted since the new dog law took effect in 2009, Lancaster remains the hub of the state's dog breeding with kennels housing 114,000 dogs last year.
And those are the dogs in the licensed kennels. There are countless "downsized" and underground kennels that continue to operate in what animal welfare advocates call a "mecca" for cruelty.
"This is a tragic occurrence for animals in Lancaster County," said Bob Baker, who over 30 years has conducted numerous investigations for various groups in Lancaster and helped draft the 1982 dog law. "I can't think of another county in the state where animal abuse is so prevalent with hundreds of puppy mills, an active trade in horses destined for slaughter, a notorious livestock auction, and countless farms utilizing horses often inhumanely."
The Dogs of Lancaster County. The county's dog breeders - most of them Amish and Mennonite - historically have racked up some of the most abysmal kennel inspection reports, been the focus of undercover probes and many cruelty cases.
The world got a glimpse into the conditions in which many dogs lived when Lancaster kennels were featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2008. Granted the dog law passed that year has improved conditions in large kennels - on paper at least - even as dog law enforcement office under the Corbett administration scaled back inspections of commercial kennels. (That policy changed last year after an outcry over the reduced numbers of inspections and failure to cite violators.)
In recent years more than a few large-scale hoarding cases - including at least one involving an American Kennel Club breeder - and dog dumping cases have made the news in the county.
The Livestock of Lancaster County. Lancaster is home to the notorious New Holland Stables and Auction, which moves thousands of animals a week to slaughter, including horses. But that's not the only auction. Mel Hoover's Auction, which along with New Holland has been the subject of many cruelty investigations. Then there's Green Dragon, which once auctioned dogs to the highest bidders, and still sells small animals like guinea pigs, rabbits and birds at its Friday night auctions.
The Farm Animals of Lancaster County. When you consider that the main source of transportation for many Amish and Mennonites in Lancaster is horse and buggy and those who are farmers use horses to work their fields and machinery, it is hard to imagine that any other county in the state has more farm animals in its boundaries.
Cruelty is a fact of farm life, even more so, sadly on Amish and Mennonite farms. It's not uncommon to see horses driven hard down paved roads with noticeable limps or draft horses standing in the fields with deep wounds where ill-fitting harnesses cut their flesh. When they are no longer useful, the plow and buggy horses are dumped at auction and often end up on the kill buyer trucks.
At one time the Large Animal Protection Society and the Pennsylvania SPCA investigated cruelty complaints in Lancaster, but it is unclear whether either group is actively doing so today.
In the past four years the PSPCA - which once took on some of the worst animal abusers in the state rescuing thousands of animals in the process - has retreated in the face of a string of lawsuits by convicted animal abusers. It has closed its satellite shelters, laid off staff outside of Philadelphia and focused almost solely on city complaints.
There's some hope for strays ahead in Lancaster. A new group, the Lancaster SPCA, has just set up temporary quarters in an old armory in Lancaster and is opening to the public on Monday. The shelter has signed contracts with a number of municipalities to provide care for their animals.
Wallick said the Humane League hopes to hire a cruelty officer in the future depending on the budget, but did not say how soon.
Until then, she told the Lancaster Intelligencer-Journal, residents should call 911.
(Photos: Lancaster dog kennel/Pet Watch New Jersey
Horse/Hoover Auction/Animals Angels 2011)
Everybody who sees a stray animal or witnesses animal cruelty in that county should dial 911 often. Maybe that will wake up the powers to do something about this problem. Animals deserve better than this.— Sportyrider71- Dear Lancaster County officials: because you continue to turn a blind eye toward cruelty to animals in your county, because you refuse to see what a STAIN the puppy mills are on your county, because you refuse to charge Amish farmers with cruelty when they force injured animals to work and whip and beat them -- because of your willful blindness, I have not set foot in Lancaster County in 15 years. Nor will I purchase anything from a Lancaster County business via the internet or mail. I refuse to patronize any business in Lancaster County whatsoever, most especially your "tourist" industry. I have encouraged others I know to boycott Lancaster County as well. Shame on you, shame on everyone who lets animal cruelty continue in Lancaster County.— Jen D
- Planet Lancaster...Strange Place— jmg7738
- Great article and about time that someone took note of this! Just because they wear black and go to church every Sunday does not mean that they treat animals well.... or outsiders. They've got that revenue thing... free of tax due to religion. Anything goes for these people. AND don't for a second think that these people do not have phones or electric, they just hide it well. AND if you think that the Amish are going to give you a deal to fix something or work on your house, you better get refs! LEARNT, (not a mispelling) the hard way! SHREWD PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— BerksCoAnimalLover
- Jen,
No one is ever going to be forced to come to Lancaster County, but by boycotting all businesses you are also hurting the ones doing a lot of good for animals here in the county.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Resale-For-Rescue/301107586670334
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pancake-Farm-Restaurant/223686027658951
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Angels-Among-Us-Animal-Sanctuary/297721442560
These are just a handful of some of the establishments that could use more business, and the money would go directly to helping animals. Just do some research before visiting and you could have a wonderful time in Lancaster and really help out some people doing good work in a really tough area.— Catya D - I stopped buying food from the amish in the farmers mkt. I buy no food that I know has been rown by them. Perhaps if more people boycotted their products they w ould get the message that animals deserve better treatment. They are not a cash crop.— patty b
- There aren't many more things more disgusting than puppy mills. I've long since stopped supporting the Amish. Shame because I sure do miss Birch Beer.— DoctorLoads
- Amy, I'll offer an answer to the question posed in your headline: Every local and State police officer. Or at least they are supposed to be. For all of the angst expressed over animal welfare organizations buckling under lawsuits we are subject to because we do not share the immunity of the police from frivolous suits- sometimes expressed by other organizations which have chosen not to have officers in the first place- I can't help but wonder why there isn't outrage at state and municipal police for refusing their clear obligation to enforce cruelty law. Shelters which have officers are doing the the State's work for free, subsidized by charitable donors rather than taxes, get beat up for not doing good enough a job, get sued when they do it at all, and then get beat up more when they decide they can't do it any longer. Utterly unfair and unreasonable.— Karel Minor, Executive Director, HSBC
- I have more sympathy for animals than I do for fellow humans. Animals cannot fend for themselves, whereas humans have the ability to try to avoid danger. Not much for new laws and regulations, but if they are to help the truly needy (animals that cannot defend themselves), I am all for it.— FletcherT
- For a group of peoples who've shunned modern machinery in lieu of animals, you'd think they would have more respect for their animals then us "English" people do. This story has been playing for years and still no resolution. I used to have respect for their cultures and family values. No more. In this regard, they are a disgrace and failure to the animals God gave them sway over. A total disgrace....— DelawareRiverRat
- Lebanon Levi seems like a sound candidate.— CitizenDick
- The Amish think that God has given them "dominion over the animals on the planet" which apparently translates into puppy mill.— greatdogz
- There is still ORCA (organization for responsible care of animals) in Lancaster Co. www.orcarescue.org 717-397-8922 Great people who love animals. I have been contributing for years. They could probably use all the donations animal lovers can make at this point, in order to sustain and expand services!— Cornwall Citizen
- Get aut naw!— LogicalPosition
- This is beyond atrocious! Lancaster Co. is one of the places that should have an ARMY of animal cruelty officers--REAL ones--fearless in protecting animals, under any circumstance, WILL properly document the cruelty, WILL go forth w/all cases until the fullest form of punishment is given to the criminal & NOT be paid off by anyone to do less than the job their title says to do....PROTECT ANIMALS !
As for boycotting Lancaster Co.---it MUST be done....my family, friends & myself have not stepped one foot in that county (except for protests)for any leisure activities or events in almost 20 years. If other businesses will not speak out for the animals, then we must do if for them & stay away. Boycott until all Lancaster puppy mills & animal cruelty stops! It's one of the biggest blemishes in PA, aside from the pigeon shoots. Such an embarrassment !— barknpurr - Thank you Karel for explaining that this anger towards nonprofit animal shelters is misdirected. It is not these organizations who are failing the animals. It is the State of PA, and every local government which has refused to fund this important work.
The Humane League of Lancaster County (as well as many other SPCAs, Humane Societies, etc.) has been forced to spend valuable resources on court cases defending itself. Even in the cases where they have sucessfully prosecuted animal abusers, they have been abandoned by the courts when it comes to receiving fair compensation and restitution for the care of abused animals. The Amish and Mennonites know how to game the system, filing countless appeals and holding up the adoptions of their victims, forcing these shelters to house the animals indefinitely while the cases drag on in court.
The system is broken in PA, and it needs to be addressed at the state level. There should be government funding for animal cruelty officers in every county. If you all really care about this issue, contact the members of the PA Legislature who can actually do something to make it better!— keersf
- A Humane Nation
- Animal Law Coalition
- Animal Legal Defense Fund
- Animals & Politics
- Best Friends Animal Society
- Catster
- Dogster
- North Penn Puppy Mill Watch
- ohmidog!
- Paw Print Post
- Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
- Pet Watch New Jersey
- Pet-Abuse.com
- PetMD
- Terrierman
- The Bark
- Vetstreet
- WebMed/Pets
- zootoo
