Farm equipment was reportedly blocking the doors of two barns where hundreds of pigs were apparently abandoned to die on a Fulton County farm.
Long & Foster Real Estate agent Rebecca A. Glesner was unable to enter all the farm buildings several weeks ago when she first arrived to examine the 218-acre Union Township property of Daniel and Kerron Clark, according a statement issued by her company.
"It's my understanding that whoever had lived on the property last had rolled equipment up against the barn doors and made it not very easy to access those buildings," said Long & Foster spokesperson Vicki Bendure.
She added that circumstances of the Clarks' "contentious divorce" also added a level of complication to the situation. When she visited the farm as hired by Kerron Clark, Glesner did not know whether Daniel Clark was still living there.
"In hindsight, the agent could have used better judgment in determining whether the property was ready for sale, given that she was unable to access all of the buildings," the company's statement said.
Between 950 and 1,000 dead pigs were found in varying stages of decay on the property. Local and state authorities are now investigating the incident.
Daniel Clark reportedly left the farm for the last time in August. He and Kerron had separated in recent years and she eventually took possession of the farm, but she lives in Maryland and had not been to the property in some time.
Kerron Clark reportedly
learned of the dead pigs on Sunday, after a potential buyer visited the farm and reported the dead animals to Glesner. The Realtor called Clark on Sunday, who contacted authorities the next day.Most of the dead pigs were found inside two finishing barns and there was evidence that they had struggled to escape, according to Dennis Bumbaugh, Pennsylvania Humane Police Officer with Better Days Animal League.
"This is a tragic example of animal cruelty and we are hopeful the authorities will identify the responsible party following a thorough evaluation of the case," the Long & Foster statement said.
Bumbaugh said Friday morning that the disposal of carcasses would not be able to begin until the criminal investigation concludes. He said investigators were in the process of "reconstructing" the carcasses in order to get a more accurate count of the dead.
"It may turn out to be a little less (than 1,000)," he said. "But there were so many bodies found outside that I just don't know."
He said the Fulton County District Attorney's Office has advised him not to release certain information about the case as it develops, and Kerron Clark wants "no interaction with the media at this time." She has also forbidden members of the press from going on the property.
A phone interview with Bumbaugh was interrupted Friday morning because "a news station just drove right over my caution lines and onto the property," he said before ending the call. Efforts to reach him later Friday were unsuccessful.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is still working to coordinate the disposal of the carcasses, a process that cannot begin until the farm is no longer consider "a crime scene," according to department spokesperson Nicole Bucher.
Bucher said a veterinarian with the department would be discussing with Kerron Clark how and where on the farm to dispose of the carcasses. The method will most likely be burial or composting, based on Department of Environmental Protection standards for air and water.
Since many of the animals are "in an advanced state of decay," and have already begun to compost naturally, that "may be a viable option, but we won't know till Monday," she said.
Whatever course of action is decided, the department will "closely monitor" the process to ensure that it is done properly, Bucher said.
"Mrs. Clark will likely have to hire a contractor to dispose of the bodies, again in accordance with DEP's standards," she wrote in an e-mail.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Field Investigation and Response team was on the scene all day Thursday and Friday, according to ASPCA spokesperson Emily Brand. The team is "documenting and collecting evidence to support local authorities," Brand wrote in an e-mail. She added that there was no information about their findings available as of Friday.
In a recently released statement the animal advocacy group, Farm Sanctuary, issued a plea for local authorities "to press criminal charges against any individuals responsible for starving these animals."
The group's president, Gene Baur, was quoted calling the incident an example of "unconscionable neglect."
"It's important to remember that pigs and other farm animals are as intelligent and sentient as cats or dogs. These pigs died a horrible death, struggling for freedom, and no one came to their rescue," Baur said.
Bumbaugh said criminal charges are likely, pending the outcome of the investigation. He declined to discuss potential charges until more information is available.
Jim Tuttle can be reached at jtuttle@publicopinionnews.com or at 262-4754.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured article: Beyond Hiroshima - The Non-Reporting of Falluja's Cancer Catastrophe.
