Tiger Rescue In A Nutshell
"Today was the dreaded Tiger Rescue in Flat Rock....Here's an article I got from WishTV 8's website. I'll give all the facts in a lengthy post in the near future but first I have to smoke a joint so read this article....which in fact, is not entirely true. The animals did not weigh 800 lbs as Kyle the director of the DNR and a dumbass in my personal meeting experience with him...in fact the animals were severely underweight and filthy. So here you go until post joint smokage.....
In Flat Rock, a rural Shelby County town, Dennis Hill has been living among leopards, tigers and bears. On Friday, he watched state conservation officers arrive on his property to take his animals away.
Tim Stark came from Clark County to transport a dozen tigers, a leopard and a lemur to his wildlife refuge called Wildlife in Need. "He deserves to lose everything he's got," said Stark. "The animals don't deserve living the way they live."
For years, Hill had a federal license to keep the animals, but the USDA revoked his license. A settlement was reached in August. It took weeks to organize the rescue mission.
"It's probably not far from some of the stories you hear on a more regular basis of someone having 30 or 40 cats that sort of get out of control. These just happen to weigh 800 pounds," said Kyle Hupfer, DNR director.
24-Hour News 8 had the only crew on the property with DNR's Hupfer. He found it scary, and the stench was tough to take. An animal was found dead behind a barn. In all, about three-dozen animals were living in poor conditions at the facility. The animals, which include tigers, a panther and a bear, were being kept in small, often badly secured and filthy pens.
"It's a fairly limited or flimsy perimeter fence and then the tigers and bears and leopards are in smaller pens inside of that. But some of those don't have the best latches and some of those are tied together with twine. We've secured all those before I went in. But when you're at a zoo you're 100 yards or 50 yards away from these animals. When you walk through a narrow two-foot pen and this 600- or 700-pound tiger just jumps up and roars six inches from your face, it was pretty startling,” said Hupfer.
Hupfer said the animals were being kept in conditions that endanger their health, and that’s not all. “In fact, we found a carcass of one that was recently deceased that died since we served our last search warrant on the premises and there is definitely a threat to the safety of the surrounding community from these animals as they are just not secured,” he said.
Two tigers were being kept in a dog kennel in a barn loft with no other security. Although the tigers were juveniles, they weigh some 300 pounds each.
The operation was a very dangerous one, and it came to a halt before noon. Hill showed up on his property with a preliminary injunction from a Shelby County court. At 4:00 pm, there was a decision. "I think there is a chance that Mr. Hill is going to let us take a substantial number of these animals. We don't know that for sure. I need to go back there and deal with this issue," said Hupfer.
In the end, Stark took five tigers to his sanctuary, which was not what he had hoped for.
The judge will take up the issue next Friday. In the meantime, Hill will keep his animals in what the DNR says are unsafe, filthy conditions.
Hupfer says in order for the animals and community to stay safe, the DNR and Board of Animal Health should be involved in granting permits to operations like this one."
And here is another from News Channel 13, also present on the scene. Crews searching for a missing tiger cub? False....the only tiger cub was being kept in a carrier getting ready to be transported to a tiger rescue facility.
"FLAT ROCK, Ind. (AP) - State wildlife officials raided an exotic animal facility Friday where they said dozens of tigers, leopards and bears were living in abysmal conditions.
Efforts to transfer the animals to other facilities were suspended midday after a Shelby County judge blocked their removal.
The Department of Natural Resources said it was taking action because it had a letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture saying owner Dennis Hill no longer had a license for the facility, about 30 miles south of Indianapolis.
Agriculture Department spokesman Jim Rogers said records showed efforts to revoke Hill's exotic animal license last year had been put on hold while Hill appealed.
In records filed Friday in Shelby Superior Court, Hill said he had an agreement with the Agriculture Department and that his license was suspended, not revoked. Hill said he is allowed to maintain the animals and that he does not believe he is breaking any laws.
The tigers were found living in a six-inch-deep mixture of mud, feces and urine, some cages were not properly secured and there were holes in the perimeter fence of the property in a rural area near the Flat Rock River, conservation officers said.
"None of us have seen anything like this," DNR Sgt. Dean Shadley said. "They're just standing in their own filth. It's just urine and feces and mud and filth. The stench is awful."
Hill said in a telephone interview that he hoped the DNR would not take his animals away.
"It's basically a permit dispute," he said.
Before the judge intervened, conservation officers were working to remove 11 adult and eight juvenile Bengal tigers, five white tigers, three spotted leopards, three black leopards, four black bears, one mountain lion and one ringtail lemur, DNR officials said.
Two tigers weighing between 200 and 300 pounds were reported found in dog kennels in a barn loft, while another tiger was found dead on the property. Crews were searching for a missing tiger cub.
Some animals were found inside a dilapidated house that had some missing windows and holes in the siding.
Shelby Superior Court Jack Tandy issued a temporary restraining order stopping the removal of the animals, however, and telling the DNR to return any animals that had already taken. He scheduled a Sept. 30 hearing on the dispute.
DNR Director Kyle Hupfer said the agency began investigating Hill's facility in August and that officers first visited the property three weeks ago.
The agency delayed taking any action until Friday as it arranged agreements with certified rescue facilities across the state to accept the animals, Hupfer said.
What Hill was doing with the animals was not immediately clear, but a message on his home answering machine said, "If you're looking for any tigers or big cats for rock band performances, please leave a message."
Thomas Winterrowd, who owns the land next to Hill's property, said Hill has had animals at the site for about 20 years and in the past has also had wolves and an orangutan.
Winterrowd said he has had disagreements with Hill but noted, "I never saw him mistreat an animal."
Hupfer said he thought the situation had gotten "a little overwhelming" for Hill.
"I don't think he intended to harm them," Hupfer said. "It's not unlike someone who has 30 or 40 cats in their house - these are just 800 pounds."
Hill has had problems with the Agriculture Department since at least 1999, when the agency cited his facility for improper shelter, cleaning, sanitation, feeding and watering. Hill settled out of court in 1999 for $2,500 and a 75-day license suspension, Rogers said.
The Agriculture Department last year charged Hill with general compliance violations under the Animal Welfare Act. The agency moved to revoke his license and fine him $20,000, but that has been under appeal."
Until then....
*jen-rat*
In Flat Rock, a rural Shelby County town, Dennis Hill has been living among leopards, tigers and bears. On Friday, he watched state conservation officers arrive on his property to take his animals away.
Tim Stark came from Clark County to transport a dozen tigers, a leopard and a lemur to his wildlife refuge called Wildlife in Need. "He deserves to lose everything he's got," said Stark. "The animals don't deserve living the way they live."
For years, Hill had a federal license to keep the animals, but the USDA revoked his license. A settlement was reached in August. It took weeks to organize the rescue mission.
"It's probably not far from some of the stories you hear on a more regular basis of someone having 30 or 40 cats that sort of get out of control. These just happen to weigh 800 pounds," said Kyle Hupfer, DNR director.
24-Hour News 8 had the only crew on the property with DNR's Hupfer. He found it scary, and the stench was tough to take. An animal was found dead behind a barn. In all, about three-dozen animals were living in poor conditions at the facility. The animals, which include tigers, a panther and a bear, were being kept in small, often badly secured and filthy pens.
"It's a fairly limited or flimsy perimeter fence and then the tigers and bears and leopards are in smaller pens inside of that. But some of those don't have the best latches and some of those are tied together with twine. We've secured all those before I went in. But when you're at a zoo you're 100 yards or 50 yards away from these animals. When you walk through a narrow two-foot pen and this 600- or 700-pound tiger just jumps up and roars six inches from your face, it was pretty startling,” said Hupfer.
Hupfer said the animals were being kept in conditions that endanger their health, and that’s not all. “In fact, we found a carcass of one that was recently deceased that died since we served our last search warrant on the premises and there is definitely a threat to the safety of the surrounding community from these animals as they are just not secured,” he said.
Two tigers were being kept in a dog kennel in a barn loft with no other security. Although the tigers were juveniles, they weigh some 300 pounds each.
The operation was a very dangerous one, and it came to a halt before noon. Hill showed up on his property with a preliminary injunction from a Shelby County court. At 4:00 pm, there was a decision. "I think there is a chance that Mr. Hill is going to let us take a substantial number of these animals. We don't know that for sure. I need to go back there and deal with this issue," said Hupfer.
In the end, Stark took five tigers to his sanctuary, which was not what he had hoped for.
The judge will take up the issue next Friday. In the meantime, Hill will keep his animals in what the DNR says are unsafe, filthy conditions.
Hupfer says in order for the animals and community to stay safe, the DNR and Board of Animal Health should be involved in granting permits to operations like this one."
And here is another from News Channel 13, also present on the scene. Crews searching for a missing tiger cub? False....the only tiger cub was being kept in a carrier getting ready to be transported to a tiger rescue facility.
"FLAT ROCK, Ind. (AP) - State wildlife officials raided an exotic animal facility Friday where they said dozens of tigers, leopards and bears were living in abysmal conditions.
Efforts to transfer the animals to other facilities were suspended midday after a Shelby County judge blocked their removal.
The Department of Natural Resources said it was taking action because it had a letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture saying owner Dennis Hill no longer had a license for the facility, about 30 miles south of Indianapolis.
Agriculture Department spokesman Jim Rogers said records showed efforts to revoke Hill's exotic animal license last year had been put on hold while Hill appealed.
In records filed Friday in Shelby Superior Court, Hill said he had an agreement with the Agriculture Department and that his license was suspended, not revoked. Hill said he is allowed to maintain the animals and that he does not believe he is breaking any laws.
The tigers were found living in a six-inch-deep mixture of mud, feces and urine, some cages were not properly secured and there were holes in the perimeter fence of the property in a rural area near the Flat Rock River, conservation officers said.
"None of us have seen anything like this," DNR Sgt. Dean Shadley said. "They're just standing in their own filth. It's just urine and feces and mud and filth. The stench is awful."
Hill said in a telephone interview that he hoped the DNR would not take his animals away.
"It's basically a permit dispute," he said.
Before the judge intervened, conservation officers were working to remove 11 adult and eight juvenile Bengal tigers, five white tigers, three spotted leopards, three black leopards, four black bears, one mountain lion and one ringtail lemur, DNR officials said.
Two tigers weighing between 200 and 300 pounds were reported found in dog kennels in a barn loft, while another tiger was found dead on the property. Crews were searching for a missing tiger cub.
Some animals were found inside a dilapidated house that had some missing windows and holes in the siding.
Shelby Superior Court Jack Tandy issued a temporary restraining order stopping the removal of the animals, however, and telling the DNR to return any animals that had already taken. He scheduled a Sept. 30 hearing on the dispute.
DNR Director Kyle Hupfer said the agency began investigating Hill's facility in August and that officers first visited the property three weeks ago.
The agency delayed taking any action until Friday as it arranged agreements with certified rescue facilities across the state to accept the animals, Hupfer said.
What Hill was doing with the animals was not immediately clear, but a message on his home answering machine said, "If you're looking for any tigers or big cats for rock band performances, please leave a message."
Thomas Winterrowd, who owns the land next to Hill's property, said Hill has had animals at the site for about 20 years and in the past has also had wolves and an orangutan.
Winterrowd said he has had disagreements with Hill but noted, "I never saw him mistreat an animal."
Hupfer said he thought the situation had gotten "a little overwhelming" for Hill.
"I don't think he intended to harm them," Hupfer said. "It's not unlike someone who has 30 or 40 cats in their house - these are just 800 pounds."
Hill has had problems with the Agriculture Department since at least 1999, when the agency cited his facility for improper shelter, cleaning, sanitation, feeding and watering. Hill settled out of court in 1999 for $2,500 and a 75-day license suspension, Rogers said.
The Agriculture Department last year charged Hill with general compliance violations under the Animal Welfare Act. The agency moved to revoke his license and fine him $20,000, but that has been under appeal."
Until then....
*jen-rat*