End to Animal Cruelty: HCSPCA Dissolved

After years of abuse and neglect of animals, and the theft of millions of dollars, a judge finally dissolved the notorious Hudson County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

From the Jersey Journal:

The HCSPCA facility was ordered shut in April 2008 by Olivieri after a series of failed inspections. Two months later the carcasses of 15 dogs, cats and a goat were found rotting inside an unplugged freezer in the fly-filled and reeking facility.

Before giving his ruling yesterday during a conference call, Olivieri outlined the history of the case which he said included findings of mistreatment of animals, abysmal record keeping regarding animals and there adoption or euthanization, filthy and unsanitary conditions, sick animals left untreated, operation without supervision of a veterinarian, and tax problems.

The judge also said, "The record clearly and convincingly substantiates at least $800,000 disappeared."

When the HCSPCA was closed the animals were transferred to the Liberty Human Society located near Liberty State Park. The court will now appoint a receiver to take control of and dispose of the assets of the HCSPCA.

Jack Shaw, the late political fixer and bagman for Leona Beldini, ended up running the society with Ed Pulver, the late head of the Hudson County Central Labor Council, in the late 1990s. The New Jersey State Commission of Investigation accused them of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But incidents of animal abuse at the society's shelter were among the worst parts of the commission's 2001 report, which describes a series of atrocities at the Jersey City shelter:

On August 1, 2000, the shelter was placed under new management because of events that were sparked by the June 15 bludgeoning of a dog by a shelter worker, the ensuing scathing  publicity, the July 3 unsatisfactory inspection by the state Department of Health [DOH] and the filing of summonses by Jersey City health officials for failure to have a responsible veterinarian and to isolate a dog in a biting case. It remains to be seen whether  the change in management is merely for cosmetic purposes until the publicity abates or whether substantive and lasting improvements will result. ...

The deplorable conditions that have existed  at the shelter are particularly inexplicable in light of  the society’s $800,000 to $1 million in investments. This has been a shelter where the well-being and interests of the animals have not been paramount. ...

From 1993 through 1999, the SPCA expended only 3% of its gross receipts on repairs to  the shelter, and most of the expenditures related to  maintaining the building as opposed to improving the  immediate conditions for the animals. The frugality with which the shelter was operated is reflected  further in the fact that the lights in the back room, which housed the large dogs, were left off during the  day in order to conserve electricity. ...

The Commission’s analysis of the euthanasia of animals during 1999 established that the shelter greatly underreported to the state DOH the number of animals euthanized; an insufficient amount of  euthanasia agent was used on a significant number of  dogs; non-certified personnel performed the euthanasia on occasion, and euthanasia was not  always conducted under the supervision of a veterinarian. ...

According to shelter  employees, for at least the past six years, although the SPCA had a signed certificate of responsible veterinarian and paid a veterinarian, the individual was never contacted by shelter employees regarding injured or sick animals and appeared at the shelter  infrequently, only once or twice a month at times and, at other times, not at all during a month. When he did visit the shelter, he did not treat animals, but simply walked around and indicated which animals should be euthanized. He was frequently absent from the state, as well as from the country, during which times he made no arrangements for another  veterinarian to be available for the shelter’s animals. ...

When the owner of the company providing animal disposal services to the shelter first went there  in March 1995, he was appalled at what he  observed. He described to the Commission dead dogs and cats piled in a heap in a room at the rear of  the shelter. None of the animals were contained in plastic bags. The stench was overwhelming. A mixture of clear liquid and blood covered the floor. Remarkably, a few animals were still alive. One cat, which appeared to be alive, was oozing blood from  its nose. Thereafter, he repeatedly criticized the staff  for its failure to clean the freezer. ...

Upon entering the shelter, an individual observed a small, sick kitten in a cardboard box near the front door. He  selected another kitten to adopt. When the shelter worker was unable to find a box in which to place the kitten, the worker grabbed the kitten that was in  the cardboard box, hurled it across the room and placed the adopted kitten in the box.

A pregnant dog was shivering in the  corner of a cage. When the individual  wanted to adopt the animal, the shelter worker stated that the policy is not to  adopt a pregnant dog so that the shelter could sell the puppies. 

Jack Shaw and Ed Pulver: two stand-up guys.

D.C.

Comments

[Lorraine]

This is 30 years too late! It has been a very very sad place and for too long. Jack Shaw and Ed Pulver should have been on trial and served jail time for what they did.

[darlingsapphire]

I can only hope that these animal abusers
and locked up, or euthanized, so they cannot
harm any more of God's beautiful animals.

[darlingsapphire]

I suggest that all animal abusers be incar-
cerated and forced to work and the monies
earned go to help animals in need. This
includes puppy mills, cateries, horse breed-
ing, and factory farm animal breeders - all
should be incarcerated, then animals can
live in peace as God had intended. There is
an exposion of human population, so why not
just put these animal abusers on death row.
All these humans are insane. If we don't
have an insane asylum then the death penalty
will suffice, if they can't be helped. The
system should have helped these confused
people in the first place. Government - you
must help the animals and help these animal
abuser, and you must govern the country with
common sense, compassion, empathy, reasoning
wisdom and morals, and most of all cut down
on human population so that our health care
is sound and our education system is free
for all, like some other intelligent
countries.