NORTH BELLMORE, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – One hundred animals were seized from a Long Island man’s basement and backyard shed this week after he was seen walking around town with a leashed South American ostrich, officials and animal advocates said Thursday.
The Nassau County SPCA led a multi-agency investigation into the alleged hoarding at a home in North Bellmore, with federal, state and local authorities descending on the property Tuesday night.
The 32-year-old man was cited for 30 state and local violations related to the illegal possession of animals, officials said.
Complaints started pouring in after witnesses spotted him walking around his neighborhood, going to stores and the Long Island Rail Road station, with a rhea, also known as a South American ostrich, according to John Di Leonardo, an anthrozoologist who is the executive director of Humane Long Island.
“We found he was bringing this rhea out on leashes into the public, into stores,” Di Leonardo said. “I mean this is a dangerous animal.”
Di Leonardo believes the man likely bought most of the animals on the internet or from pet stores and became overwhelmed.
“I wouldn’t say that this is a neglect case,” he said. “I think that this was a person who got in over their head and was housing a lot of animals.”
The animals will go to licensed animal rehabilitators, petting zoos or learning centers.
Humane Long Island took custody of several dozen of the critters, including the South American ostrich, as well as two peafowl, dozens of chickens, domestic ducks and geese.
The birds are being fostered and will be seen by a veterinarian before they’re transported to SkyWatch Bird Rescue in Castle Hayne, North Carolina.
Among the other animals uncovered at the home, officials said, were an endangered tiger salamander, a giant African snail, a North American opossum, two prairie dogs, an Asian water monitor, a Savannah monitor, a Sulcata tortoise and several degus. There were also various reptiles like snakes and turtles.
Live quails, which officials believe the man planned to feed to the reptiles, were also seized.
Di Leonardo said the illicit wildlife trade is one of the largest sources of criminal earnings, “behind only arms smuggling and drug trafficking.”
“Hoarding giant birds, prairie dogs, and endangered species in a cramped basement or backyard shed is cruel, and keeping them in cages next to their natural predators can cause them extreme stress,” he said. “Simply speaking, wild animals are not pets.”
