ER - National, international animal groups weigh in on abuse scandal

Thirteen dogs were rescued Aug. 11 from the former Mad River property of Roberta Bugenig. Two of the dogs had to be euthanized, and eight others are still looking for caring homes. File photo

National, international animal groups weigh in on abuse scandal
by Heather Muller , 8/30/2006

At least three major animal welfare organizations have declared their active involvement in the Mad River animal abuse cases that have rocked Trinity and Humboldt counties.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund, the Humane Society of the United States and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have offered their services to law enforcement officials in both counties, and have been working behind the scenes to assist officials struggling to deal with the legal issues — and public relations disaster — that have arisen from the discovery of dozens of dead dogs and other animals found at three locations near Mad River.

“This is a very disturbing case,” said Stephanie Bell, a cruelty caseworker from PETA, the Virginia-based international animal rights organization that has been quietly involved in the case for more than a week.

“One of our biggest concerns … is the prolonged substandard conditions these animals were apparently subjected to, and we are very interested in finding out why it took officials so long to get help for these animals. It is our understanding that Trinity County officials were made aware of these animals in June of 2004, and it is extremely disturbing to us that these animals did not get the help they so desperately needed until August of 2006, more than two years later,” Bell said.

Known the world over for its nude photos of supermodels (“I’d rather go naked than wear fur”) and its guerilla-theater tactics — including the splashing of paint on wearers of expensive furs — the sometimes controversial organization has taken a decidedly measured approach to these cases.

“We generally don’t take action on cases that are reported to us until we have all of the facts at our fingertips, so that we can know how best to proceed,” Bell said. “Without factual and accurate information, we can’t weigh in in a helpful manner.”

Bell said she had been in contact with officials from the Trinity County District Attorney’s Office. “They have been very responsive to my phone calls,” she said.

But Bell added that she would like to see action taken in Humboldt County as well.

“We are heartened by the fact that charges have been filed in Trinity County, and that additional charges may be pending. We certainly believe, based on the information that we’ve seen … to date, that felony cruelty to animal charges are merited. We also would like to see charges pursued in Humboldt County based on the condition of an apparently emaciated blind horse found on the (Roberta) Bugenig property in June of 2004, and we will be contacting Humboldt County officials about that matter.”

That point was seconded by Paul Bruce from the Humane Society of the United States.

“Trinity County Animal Control obviously dropped the ball, but the Humboldt County District Attorney certainly could have filed charges and maybe got this thing resolved before it got as bad as it did,” said Bruce, who is the regional program coordinator for the HSUS’s West Coast regional office.

“Things were handled horribly,” he said, adding that both Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos and Trinity County Animal Control Officer Christine Edwards would be the recipients of two of “many” letters he plans to write.

“Of cases we’ve known about, this one’s pretty horrific,” Bruce said. “When you throw in the horrible fact of dogs cannibalizing each other to stay alive, that leads us to believe this situation is worthy of a lot more attention than it’s been getting.”

As previously reported in The Eureka Reporter, Gallegos said Monday that he would reconsider a felony animal cruelty charge against Bugenig that had been rejected by his office in 2004.

While residing in Bridgeville in 2004, Bugenig owned more than 60 animals, many of which are believed to have died or been killed near Mad River after she reportedly moved across the county line in June of that year.

Gallegos’ announcement came on the heels of a challenge by attorneys from the Animal Legal Defense Fund to his interpretation of the legal statute under which a felony charge against Bugenig had been requested by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.

In an e-mail Friday to The Eureka Reporter, Eileen Stark, the ALDF’s director of education, stated, “We urge that a very thorough investigation be performed — in both counties — so that appropriate charges can be filed in this case. We are offering our free assistance to the prosecutors in both counties, and we are available for advice on the investigations as well.”

And PETA has not yet ruled out direct action in the cases.

“We don’t know what’s going to come to pass,” Bell said. “We will continue to make decisions as information becomes available.

“What I can definitively tell you is that we have been and will continue to monitor this case very, very closely. We want to make sure justice is served.”

For more information about People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, visit www.peta.org. For information about the Humane Society of the United States, visit www.hsus.org. For the Animal Legal Defense Fund, visit www.aldf.org.

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