By John Di Leonardo
This past Thursday, September 11, 2025, I held a peaceful protest outside of Long Island’s Brookhaven Town Hall to raise awareness about more than one hundred animals suffering at the Holtsville Ecology Site – a taxpayer-funded roadside zoo built on the town’s landfill. After months of protests, more than a dozen whistleblowers coming forward to allege animal mistreatment, and a Newsday investigation finding animals kept in filthy enclosures, medical problems being ignored for weeks, and surgical procedures being performed without anesthetic by staff who lacked formal veterinary training or licenses, Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico has announced that the town is nearing a decision about potentially closing the garbage dump turned roadside zoo.
This good news about a potential end to animal suffering at the Holtsville Ecology Site was welcomed, not only because of following the recent deaths of a dozen animals at the facility, including a bear named Honey whose pitiful last days were depicted in a giant photograph of her concrete cell on a mobile billboard alongside our demonstration – but also because it was 24 years to the day of the attack on the World Trade Center and one day after the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk.
Over the past several years, I’ve grown accustomed to death threats for my work advocating for animals. I’ve been the subject of a murder-for-hire scheme, and my wife and mother have been the target of rape threats. Even at a Brookhaven Town Hall meeting earlier this year, several of our young female whistleblowers were sexually harassed and intimidated by approximately one hundred highwaymen sent by the town’s highway superintendent to silence them about the alleged mistreatment of animals at the town zoo.
As we spoke peaceably with attendees about compassion for animals, I could not help but reflect on the growing political violence in our world – and reflect on what Jainism teaches us about Ahimsa.
It is my experience that those who resort to violence toward one group – whether that group be a segment of the human population or the nonhuman population – rarely stop there, turning ripples into tsunamis; but we can use our own freedom of speech for peace instead of violence. As Mahavira said, “Anger begets more anger, and forgiveness and love lead to more forgiveness and love.”
For this week’s Anuvrat, or small vow, I remind readers to respond to hate and cruelty not with violence or anger, but with right thought, right speech, and right action. These are the three jewels of conduct that illuminate the path of liberation and guide us in our worldly duties.
Through right thought, let us contemplate the interconnectedness of all life. The suffering of others is not separate from our own. To ignore their pain is to cloud our own soul with karma. Let our thoughts be filled with compassion and clarity.
Through right speech, let our words be gentle yet firm, spoken with reverence and purpose. We may write polite messages to Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico and the Town Council at [email protected]—not to condemn, but to awaken their conscience. Urge them to close the Holtsville Ecology Site and work with Humane Long Island to transfer the animals to sanctuaries where they may live in peace and dignity.
Through right action, let us steer clear of all roadside zoos and facilities that hold animals captive for entertainment and join animal welfare organizations like Humane Long Island in efforts to protect the most vulnerable members of our population. You can join our efforts at www.humaneli.org.
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John Di Leonardo is the founding director of Humane Long Island. He was previously the Senior Manager of Grassroots Campaigns and Animals in Entertainment Campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). He has a Master's degree in Anthrozoology from Canisius College. He also earned a graduate certificate in Jain Studies from the International School of Jain Studies (ISJS) in India. John can be reached at [email protected]. (Photo courtesy: John Di Leonardo)
