The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office alleges that staff at the taxpayer-funded Holtsville Ecological Center on Long Island mistreated a 27-year-old bear named Honey before euthanizing it last month, The Post reported. As a result, allegations of animal abuse are being investigated.
Prosecutor Ray Tierney has received a request for an independent investigation into a state-licensed animal shelter in the Town of Brookhaven, alleging that several animals died due to lack of proper veterinary care. The company said it was investigating allegations made by former employees and advocates, including: By Dan Panico, Supervisor.
“I was asked to look into it, so I will look into it,” Tierney told the paper, without providing further details.
The shelter is licensed by the state Department of Environmental Protection and strangely operated by the town's highway department, but will now be subject to “increased oversight” by town officials and supervisors. , Panico swore.
The DEC is conducting its own investigation and previously announced that it had interviewed some of the eight former employees who raised concerns about the treatment of animals with the advocacy group Humane Long Island.
The 3.5-acre shelter, which opened in 1974 on a former landfill, is free and open to the public and houses about 100 sick or injured animals that cannot survive in the wild.
The center has come under fire in recent weeks after the center's star baby, Honey, suffered a stroke that caused her to lose function in her hindquarters and was euthanized on Nov. 22.
The elderly bear had broken and rotting teeth, suffered from chronic urinary tract infections, and was reportedly blown away with a hose after being moved to an enclosure too late.
“The fact that the DA is investigating this matter and that the town supervisor has requested an investigation shows how serious these allegations are,” said John DiLeonardo, executive director of Humane LI. said.
