Leader of Local Animal Shelter Recounts Horrific Scene on New Berlin Pig Farm

The leader of a local animal shelter and rescue is still tired after a long weekend assisting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation with the seizure of over 100 animals from a farm in Upstate New York.

Stacie Haynes is the Executive Director of the Susquehanna SPCA in Cooperstown, New York. She and her staff are currently housing several of the animals left behind at a "well-known" pig farm in New Berlin. That is where the New York State DEC responded to disturbing reports of dead animals seen on the grounds of the farm.

Reports Come in of Dead Animals on the Property

While the farm in question is an hour from where Haynes lives and in a different county than her shelter, she started hearing about the stories that came in from there. Haynes said,

Over the years it's just become a little more neglected every day. People started to notice dead animals and that's when we started getting calls. We can't always answer when it's outside of our county because we're so busy in our own county, but this case just seemed so egregious that I contacted State Police right away and they took it very seriously, which was really wonderful.

She was very pleased that the local law enforcement is always very helpful and caring when it comes to neglect of animals.

Planning the Rescue

When it comes to this particular scene and situation they didn't have much time to prepare to intervene. Haynes said they had a week to plan the rescue. They had to acquire farming trailers, livestock trailers, plan for having veterinarians on scene for medical evaluation. It was an awful day due to the fact that there were euthanasias in the field and a horse was transported to a local animal hospital where it ended up passing away. Now, Haynes and her staff are doing all they can to nurse the rest of the animals back to health. Haynes says,

We are boarding and providing care for all of the animals, but at 4 different locations. The dogs and cat with kittens are in my shelter facility [in Cooperstown]. The farm animals are at farm locations where we provide the care throughout the region.

What Could Have Caused this Incident?

When asked about the reason behind this terrible incident, she didn't hold back. She believes, from what she heard, that it was a husband and wife who owned this farm and would sell their pigs as livestock. She understands the husband may have passed away and things went downhill from there. Did this woman mean well and just got overwhelmed? That is not what Haynes believes.

I am not trying to label anyone, but generally there is a mental health aspect of this. In this case I really can't speak to the reason behind it, but there was blatant animal cruelty. There were animals suffering and dying before their eyes and nobody reached out for help.

Here's How You Can Help!

Haynes really believes that these animals will get justice and she hopes they do. She will continue to do her part to bring these animals back to health and find them good homes. In the meantime, Haynes and her staff need help. For now, the best way to provide assistance for these animals is to make a contribution today to support their care by visiting sqspca.org/donate. Any little bit can help.