Have to do a second entry this morning! A few months ago, late January, 2010, to be more precise, Marion County decided it was a good idea to seize all of the animals belonging to Barbara Hoffmann and Fred Lulling. My first entry on that case was "Government Kicking the Widow Hoffman" Yep, most of my entries have Barbara's last name misspelled and so do most of the media items out there.
Rubber stamp, rubber stamp, rubber stamp and dead animals and the remainder shipped off... but before that...
In "KILLING, What THEY Do Best", I described some of veterinarian Carol Hedges' actions in this case. She was responsible for killing about 1/3 of the animals within hours of the seizure, without court permission.
And then there's Prosecutor William (Bill) Gleason who tended the big exotic cats despite a court order mandating that they be tended by someone with qualifications to do so while he had NO qualifications at all.
And then there's Caroline Wedding of the Marion County Humane Society, essentially a PO Box, who was the one who "vetted" where the animals should go. 2 of the Big Cats went to WAO (Wild Animal Orphanage) and you really have to wonder if Caroline Wedding knows what google is because WAO has QUITE a little history of ups and downs, being in trouble, and for all kinds of in-fighting. You can read all about them at the links on Rexano if you have the stomach for it.
Despite all that, Barbara's beloved Boris and Gizmo were shipped to WAO. Shortly thereafter, WAO was under "new management", the apparent result of yet another of their little internal pissing matches. Oh, and BTW, Marion County didn't have any way to transport the Big Cats, nor did the Marion County Humane Society. No problem, they just snatched up Barbara and Fred's transport cages to keep the cats in for weeks and then transport them in. These would be the exact same cages they alleged were the "cruel confinement" from which they needed to be immediately removed. OK, so they pry an agreement from Barbara and Fred to relinquish the cats and allow the transport cages to be used because, without that, they'd be staying in jail indefinitely. (Immediately after signing over the cats and use of the cages, they were released on PR bonds.)
The transport cages were to be kept for Barbara and Fred to pick up later. The ones that went to WAO "disappeared". Folks, these are not dog crates, these are the big transport cages that roll up onto a train, the ones you see at circus grounds holding Big Exotic Cats, lions and tigers. These cages ain't cheap!
What's up at WAO now? Well, who knows but the USDA appears to be looking for help for the animals at WAO. Here's the email I received:
- The Wild Animal Orphanage near San Antonio, Texas is having difficulty
caring for their animals. They are now trying to find homes for 55 tigers, 14
lions, 3 cougars, 6 wolf hybrids, 2 old (17 years) leopards, and about
200 primates: 18 vervet monkeys, 2 barbary macaques, 2 patas monkeys, 23 +/-
capuchins, 21 baboons (several infants in group), 16 chimps (5 HIV +may
have homes already) and approximately 134 macaques, all retired research
animals. - We are working on finding homes for many of the animals but if you know of
a facility who would be willing to take one or more of any of these
animals, please contact me at _laurie.j.gage@aphis.usda.gov_
(mailto:laurie.j.gage@aphis.usda.gov) . Also if you or your facility might be able to make
donations of primate or big cat food, or able to help with the transportation
of animals, please let me know. Right now the animals all belong to the
WAO and the transfer would be between the WAO and your facility. Donations
of food or other resources would go to the WAO. USDA Animal Care is trying
to help with the situation. We may be able to arrange for transportation
of some of the animals. - Thanks all in advance for any thoughts, ideas, donations or advice.
- Laurie Gage, DVM, DIpl. ACZM
- Big Cat Specialist USDA APHIS Animal Care
Well, now, didn't Caroline Wedding of the Marion County Humane Society just do one hell of a job finding a permanent home for Boris and Gizmo?
If you'd like to catch up on this seizure case, just search my archives for "Marion County" and I think all the entries will pop right up for you. And you should also check out Barbara's blog at Top Cats Roar.
Honestly, I don't know if Barbara and Fred are the lucky ones to know what has become of their beloved animals or not. The torture of the owners just seems to go on and on and on and... These animals rights activists and their seizures are just a huge killing machine!
I have a sudden urge to go clean and oil some guns for some reason. I would most definitely prefer to go out in a hail of bullets than be tortured as these raid victims are.