Demand Ohio to pass Felony Law to protect Animals
- by: Supporters of House Bill HB 70 Ohio's Felony law
- recipient: Government of Ohio
Demand Ohio to pass Felony Law to protect Animals After hearing the terrible tragedy that has just recently unfolded in Kinsman ,Ohio at the Humane Sanctuary The public wants to voice their opinion,Hear Our plea for New Laws to be passed in your state of Ohio to protect animals. WE WANT A LAW THAT WILL PROTECT THE VOICELESS !! To learn more about Nitro's law & what we are doing to change the law please view link.http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&ref=ts&gid=141794178559www.nitrofoundation.com
Another miscarriage of justice in a ruling of one of Ohio's most recent horrific case of animal abuse/cruelty/neglect in which 160 dogs were rescued and 2 dead dogs, along with a 55-gallon drum barrel filled to the rim with animal bones were discovered.
Nitro's Law - HB70 could have been used appropriately in such a disrespectful ruling. Instead, only a conviction of second-degree misdemeanor animal cruelty was handed down, with a $100 fine and 5 years probation. Proving once again, how lacking this state is in animal welfare legislation, and two defenseless dogs with no names, and a 55-gallon barrel of animal bones were disregarded because they were just animals.
Officials had fielded complaints about Kathy Witzman’s Humane Sanctuary Inc. for at least five years —from rats crossing the road in front of her house to odors resulting from animals’ being burned.
In the end, an insider infiltrated Witzman’s operation, volunteering there for six weeks while photographing the conditions and turning over her evidence to Deputy Harold Firster of the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department.
Kathy Witzman a resident of Kinsman, Ohio was owner and operator of Humane Sanctuary, Inc. a No-Kill animal sanctuary for unwanted homeless animals. Some have said she started out with the best intentions. However, the photos taken by humane volunteer agents of the Animal Welfare League of Ohio speak of something far more disturbing and heinous.
The undercover efforts soon revealed that Witzman, 58, was housing 162 dogs, 15 cats, 14 chickens and five ducks in and around her home on state Route 87, about four miles east of state Route 11.
Witzman’s 97-year-old mother also was found living inside the house with 17 live and two dead dogs. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation and treatment.
Starving dogs found trapped in metal crates, living in darkness in a wet and dilapidated barn, covered in urine and feces soaked blankets, chickens pecking and roosting atop the metal crates. Some didn't have the putrid blankets for protection and instead endured the chickens constant waste falling on them.
Kennels, with dogs chained standing in snow with no protection from the elements with junk and debris littered throughout, as they stood shaking on malnourished legs and frost-bitten feet. Dead dogs found lying trapped within plastic crates where they were left to die and rot, and dead, partially eaten puppies littered among the property in the snow.
Debbie Agostinelli, shelter director for the Animal Welfare League, said dogs inside the house apparently had eaten some of the flesh off two dead dogs in a bedroom with a chain link gate for a door. They had attacked and killed the 2 dogs for food.
Firster, the sheriff department’s environmental officer, filed criminal charges against Witzman in Eastern District Court in Brookfield, she was charged with one count of open dumping, a felony, and at least one count of cruelty to animals.
Firster said the dumping charge was for filling a 55-gallon drum with animal bones and carcasses and piling them up and covering them with straw in another location. Firster said he has asked Sean O’Brien, an assistant county prosecutor, to file 205 counts of cruelty to animals for the total number of live and dead animals found in the house, backyard and a barn.
However, the sentence Witzman received is leaving a very bad taste in many mouths. She was found guilty on Thursday March 11, of a second-degree misdemeanor of animal cruelty in Eastern District Court. She was sentenced by Judge Ronald Rice to pay a $100 fine, 5 years probation (in which she cannot own an animal). Witzman has also agreed to undergo a psychological examination. Her 90-year-old mother is now a ward of the state. Witzman spent a total of one night and jail, and was released without having to post bond.
http://www.canineadvocatesofohio.org/HumaneSanctuary/Index.htm
Sign PetitionSign PetitionAnother miscarriage of justice in a ruling of one of Ohio's most recent horrific case of animal abuse/cruelty/neglect in which 160 dogs were rescued and 2 dead dogs, along with a 55-gallon drum barrel filled to the rim with animal bones were discovered.
Nitro's Law - HB70 could have been used appropriately in such a disrespectful ruling. Instead, only a conviction of second-degree misdemeanor animal cruelty was handed down, with a $100 fine and 5 years probation. Proving once again, how lacking this state is in animal welfare legislation, and two defenseless dogs with no names, and a 55-gallon barrel of animal bones were disregarded because they were just animals.
Officials had fielded complaints about Kathy Witzman’s Humane Sanctuary Inc. for at least five years —from rats crossing the road in front of her house to odors resulting from animals’ being burned.
In the end, an insider infiltrated Witzman’s operation, volunteering there for six weeks while photographing the conditions and turning over her evidence to Deputy Harold Firster of the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Department.
Kathy Witzman a resident of Kinsman, Ohio was owner and operator of Humane Sanctuary, Inc. a No-Kill animal sanctuary for unwanted homeless animals. Some have said she started out with the best intentions. However, the photos taken by humane volunteer agents of the Animal Welfare League of Ohio speak of something far more disturbing and heinous.
The undercover efforts soon revealed that Witzman, 58, was housing 162 dogs, 15 cats, 14 chickens and five ducks in and around her home on state Route 87, about four miles east of state Route 11.
Witzman’s 97-year-old mother also was found living inside the house with 17 live and two dead dogs. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation and treatment.
Starving dogs found trapped in metal crates, living in darkness in a wet and dilapidated barn, covered in urine and feces soaked blankets, chickens pecking and roosting atop the metal crates. Some didn't have the putrid blankets for protection and instead endured the chickens constant waste falling on them.
Kennels, with dogs chained standing in snow with no protection from the elements with junk and debris littered throughout, as they stood shaking on malnourished legs and frost-bitten feet. Dead dogs found lying trapped within plastic crates where they were left to die and rot, and dead, partially eaten puppies littered among the property in the snow.
Debbie Agostinelli, shelter director for the Animal Welfare League, said dogs inside the house apparently had eaten some of the flesh off two dead dogs in a bedroom with a chain link gate for a door. They had attacked and killed the 2 dogs for food.
Firster, the sheriff department’s environmental officer, filed criminal charges against Witzman in Eastern District Court in Brookfield, she was charged with one count of open dumping, a felony, and at least one count of cruelty to animals.
Firster said the dumping charge was for filling a 55-gallon drum with animal bones and carcasses and piling them up and covering them with straw in another location. Firster said he has asked Sean O’Brien, an assistant county prosecutor, to file 205 counts of cruelty to animals for the total number of live and dead animals found in the house, backyard and a barn.
However, the sentence Witzman received is leaving a very bad taste in many mouths. She was found guilty on Thursday March 11, of a second-degree misdemeanor of animal cruelty in Eastern District Court. She was sentenced by Judge Ronald Rice to pay a $100 fine, 5 years probation (in which she cannot own an animal). Witzman has also agreed to undergo a psychological examination. Her 90-year-old mother is now a ward of the state. Witzman spent a total of one night and jail, and was released without having to post bond.
http://www.canineadvocatesofohio.org/HumaneSanctuary/Index.htm
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