Lookout beat me to it.
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PETA possibly involved with dead dogs
By Cal Bryant
AHOSKIE - A month-long investigation into animal cruelty has resulted in a pair of arrests, individuals possibly linked with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
On Wednesday, Andrew Benjamin Cook, 24, of 504 Tree Top Street, Virginia Beach, Va. and Adria Joy Hinkle, 27, of 1602 Claremont Ave., Norfolk, Va. were each charged with 31 felony counts of animal cruelty and eight misdemeanor counts each of illegal disposal of dead animals.
Both were transported to the Hertford County jail, each under a $35,500 secured bond.
Ahoskie Police Chief Troy Fitzhugh said Cook and Hinkle posted bond prior to incarceration.
"We've been investigating animal cruelty and illegal disposal of dead animals within our city for the last four weeks," Fitzhugh said. "Our investigators determined that these incidents were occurring every Wednesday for approximately one month."
Yesterday (Wednesday) law enforcement officials with the Ahoskie Police and Bertie County Sheriff's Office were able to observe a white panel van drive next to the commercial dumpster located behind Piggly Wiggly in Newmarket Shopping Center. A person in the van tossed several dark-colored bags in the dumpster before the van attempted to pull away.
At that time, a traffic stop was initiated on the van - a vehicle occupied by Cook and Hinkle.
The bags located in the dumpster contained 18 dead dogs, including one bag containing seven puppies. An additional 13 dead dogs were found in the van.
A license check revealed the van was registered to PETA in Norfolk, Va.
It is not yet confirmed if Cook and Hinkle are official representatives of the animal rights group.
However, Detective Sgt. Ed Pittman of the Bertie Sheriff's Office confirmed, through the county's Animal Control Officer, that Cook and Hinkle identified themselves as PETA representatives from Norfolk, Va.
"According to Barry (Anderson, Bertie's Animal Officer), the man and woman told him they were picking up the dogs to take them back to Norfolk where they would find them good homes," Pittman said.
Pittman added that as far as he knew, persons identifying themselves as PETA representatives had picked-up live dogs at the Bertie Animal Shelter for at least the last two months.
Anderson, also involved in Wednesday's surveillance and subsequent arrest, was able to positively identify nearly all of the dogs found in the dumpster as the ones picked-up just a few hours earlier on Wednesday by Cook and Hinkle.
"Barry documents the animals as they are received at the animal shelter," Pittman noted.
Two of the 31 dogs were kept for an autopsy. The remainder were properly buried on Town of Ahoskie property.
Chief Fitzhugh praised the work of his lead investigator, Detective Sgt. Jeremy Roberts, as well as the outstanding corporation between his agency and Bertie County Sheriff Greg Atkins and his investigators.
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Two PETA representatives kill and dump dogs they ‘rescued’ from shelters
A man and a woman claiming to be representatives of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have been arrested in North Carolina for killing dogs they received from two animal shelters. The two were using a van registered to PeTA in Norfolk, Virginia. 1
Following a month-long investigation, officers in Ahoskie, North Carolina, arrested Andrew Benjamin Cook, 24, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Adria Joy Hinkle, 27, of Norfolk, Virginia, on 31 felony counts of animal cruelty and eight misdemeanor counts of illegal disposal of dead animals. The cruelty charges stem from discovery of 18 dog bodies found in a dumpster and 13 dead dogs in the van.
The police investigation was triggered by the discovery of dead animal bodies on several Wednesdays. On June 15, several law enforcement officers watched as Cook and Hinkle unloaded several dark bags into a dumpster behind a market. They stopped the van before it could pull away.
The animal officer for the Bertie County Animal Shelter identified the bodies as dogs that were picked up at the shelter earlier that day. 2 The officer said the pair had been picking up animals at his shelter for the past two months on the pretext they were taking them to Norfolk, Virginia, to place them in good homes.
The investigation and arrests confirm what NAIA has known for years: PeTA’s “sanctuary” exists to give the organization a veneer of respectability that is no more legitimate than a front business used by mobsters as a cover for corrupt activities.
PeTA is no stranger to killing animals it claims are better dead than held captive. From 1998-2003, PeTA killed more than 10,000 of the 13,000 animals brought to its sanctuary in Norfolk. 3
A veterinarian speaks out
Ahoskie veterinarian Dr. Patrick Proctor said that he has spayed and neutered animals brought to him by PeTA representatives for several years. The representatives asked him if he had any adoptable animals they could also take to Norfolk for placement in new homes. Over the years, he sent about 50 animals with them, including a mother cat and two kittens in the Wednesday pick-up. He identified one of the dead dogs found Wednesday as a six-month-old Labrador retriever cross puppy in apparently good condition except for the hypodermic needle hole in its front leg.
Proctor said that he is trying to get the word out about these killings and has called national media in an attempt to get them interested in the story.
Cook and Hinkle, who have been identified in news stories as PETA employees, are out on bond. Their first court date is Friday, June 17.
Notes
1. Media release from Ahoskie Police Department, June 16, 2005
2. “PETA possibly involved with dead dogs,” by Cal Bryant, Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald
3. PeTAkills animals.com, a website of the Center for Consumer Freedom
4. News tape http://www.wavy10.com/video/peta-arrest.htm
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