By John Di Leonardo
You acted, and animals were saved!
After a year-long campaign led by my organization, Humane Long Island, and several former employees of the Holtsville Ecology Site— a roadside zoo operated by the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department on an old landfill —Long Island’s largest zoo is shutting down!
This zoo's closure follows a 120-page document compiled by more than a dozen whistleblowers alleging that animals died after suffering from painful ailments and even froze to death at the roadside zoo.
According to these employees, the Holtsville Ecology Site—which is operated by the Brookhaven Town Highway Department—frequently kept Honey the bear—who was given to the Ecology Site by Sloth Encounters owner Larry Wallach after he used her for cub photo-ops—in a tiny, barren enclosure, where she reportedly suffered from broken and rotted teeth, chronic urinary tract infections, and displayed signs of severe stress, such as swaying back and forth. Other sick and neglected animals who allegedly recently died at the facility include a goat with a large abscess on its neck, a skunk suffering from cancer, a crow infected with West Nile Virus, and at least half a dozen parakeets who froze to death.
Acharya Tulsi ji (Photo courtesy: Arvind Vora)
Humane Long Island thanks Supervisor Dan Panico and the Town Board — especially Councilmember Jon Kornreich, who first agreed to meet with us about our concerns — for recognizing that towns have no business running a zoo.
We also thank everyone who joined us at town meetings and protests, shared our coverage in Newsday, the New York Post, and The South Asian Times, to our friends at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for sponsoring a mobile billboard showing Honey the bear's last days at the Holtsville Ecology Site, the more than a dozen brave whistleblowers who brought these animals' plight to our attention, and each one of you who took action for this campaign after learning about it in this column. This win belongs to you!
This victory is not just good news for animals, but also a win for Brookhaven residents as shutting down the Holtsville Ecology Site will save taxpayers upwards of $2 million annually while paving the way for new community amenities, like a children’s splash park, at the site.
Our campaign now moves on to its next phase: ensuring each and every animal is retired to a reputable sanctuary where they can get specialized care and live more natural lives.
For this week’s Anuvrat, I invite you to join me in thanking Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico and the Town Council for making the compassionate decision to shutter the misnamed Holtsville Ecology Site and urge them to ensure the animals only go to reputable sanctuaries where they can get the specialized care they need. Politely urge them to work with Humane Long Island on the ethical placement of the animals. You can email them on: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
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)
