Not good in Wisconsin

New video released:
http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/97629914.html

the gator at 1:42 looks weird

sick, sick sick..............

Lil update:

Court frees some turtles, orders others held
By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel
July 22, 2010 |(7) COMMENTS

A few of the hundreds of animals seized from reptile aficionado Terry Cullen have won their freedom, but the vast majority of the snakes, lizards and crocodiles remain stuck in legal limbo and under watch of officials who don't want them.

Authorities seized the animals from what they described as filthy, desperate conditions in May. Cullen, 60, was charged with sexual assault of an Illinois woman who says Cullen was interviewing her for an internship with his repitle conservancy, and with several counts of misdemeanor animal-related offenses.

Authorities were investigating the assault claim when they discovered the reptiles, plus some rats and mice and two dogs, two locations in Milwaukee.

Cullen has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and is also trying to get the animals returned to him or to court-appointed receivers that he claims can better care for them than local animal control officials. He says their conditions have worsened and some have died since they were taken from him.

The state, likewise, has requested permission to permanently relocate the animals, something Cullen contends could kill some of them. In court papers, prosecutors said the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission, MADACC, is doing the best it can, but that caring for exotic species creates a dangerous work environment. They also agree the animals need better care than can only be provided out of state.

Prosecutors said their request is a matter of "utmost urgency" to protect the health of the reptiles and to keep the community safe.

But at a hearing Tuesday, Circuit Judge Jeffrey Conen said that issue really belongs in a separate proceeding in civil court. He ruled that Cullen had missed a deadline to contest the animals' seizure under the state's animal statute, and no longer had any property interest in the "unclaimed" creatures.

But the sides had reached agreeement on some turtles, and Conen ordered that about a dozen turtles currently in the custody of the state Department of Natural Resources, which are native to Wisconsin, can be released into the wild. But an ornate box turtle and a Blanding's turtle must be held as evidence in the pending case against Cullen.

Cullen's attorney, Anthony Cotton, said the few animals being kept at the Racine Zoo are doing fine, but that hundreds being kept at a MADACC storage building under circumstances no better than what Cullen provided, and without his specialized knowledge.

Cotton said Cullen had experts from around the country in court and ready to testify Tuesday about better places to care for the reptiles. He argued that the animals should be treated like any other other property seized during a search warrant in a criminal investigation, and since police have released them as evidence, they should be returned or put under a receiver.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/100000079.html

At least 32 reptiles in abuse case were lent from zoos
Rick Wood
An American alligator is one of several animals waiting to be placed after being seized by police in May. At least 32 animals had been lent to Terry Cullen.
Miami, Bronx among institutions that lent animals to man accused of animal abuse

By Jackie Loohauis-Bennett of the Journal Sentinel

Aug. 4, 2010 |(21) Comments

enlarge photo
Rick Wood
Kevin Wilken, shelter supervisor for the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission, checks in on a foot green anaconda snake on Thursday. It’s one of the reptiles seized in May.
more photos
Rick Wood
Kevin Wilken, shelter supervisor for the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission, checks in on a foot green anaconda snake on Thursday. It’s one of the reptiles seized in May.
Close
Related links

* Reptiles in abuse case were lent from zoos
* MADACC's estimate to care for reptiles wrong

Blog Updates

Latest entries from Journal Sentinel reporter Jackie Loohauis-Bennett's blog, Animal Magnetism.

* Wisconsin Week for Animals ready
* HAWS Dog Day gets new date
* MECA vet got a shock in reptile seizure (2)

View All Blog Posts

Dozens of endangered species animals seized from Milwaukee reptile-keeper Terry Cullen after they were found left unfed in squalid conditions were lent to Cullen for safekeeping by major American zoos, including the Bronx Zoo and Zoo Miami.

At least 32 reptiles, including critically endangered Chinese alligators and dwarf crocodiles, were on loan to Cullen from the zoos when authorities discovered them in May. Some of the animals were found dead, injured or ill, kept in plastic boxes and sweater containers with little food or water, according to records from the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission.

Cullen has been charged with a dozen counts of animal abuse and violations of endangered and exotic species regulations. He has also been charged with sexual assault and false imprisonment in an incident that led to the discovery of the animals.

Several of the animals appear to have been on loan to Cullen for decades. The loans involved little oversight from the zoos that owned the animals.

The zoos owning animals in the Cullen seizure are the Bronx Zoo, Zoo Miami, the Memphis Zoo and the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas. Other national zoos may own animals in the seizure, "but these are the ones that have come forward," said Melanie Sobel, the executive director of MADACC.

All the zoos are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a nonprofit national zoo umbrella organization. Zoo association accreditation "ensures that the animals at accredited zoos and aquariums receive excellent care every day," according to association spokesman Steve Feldman.

Cullen was widely known for his public appearances with reptiles at animal shows and swap meets. He also headed the Cullen Vivarium Wildlife Conservancy based in Milwaukee. He never led a zoo association-accredited facility, according to Feldman.

The loan arrangements came to light when the zoos reclaimed their animals from MADACC, which took in the reptiles after Milwaukee police seized them. More than 230 snakes, turtles, crocodiles and other animals were involved in the action. MADACC is under contract by county municipalities to care for animals seized in law enforcement situations.

The Memphis Zoo has taken several endangered dwarf crocodiles from MADACC. Although Memphis Zoo officials said they were unsure the crocs were the same long-lived reptiles the zoo had lent to Cullen in the 1970s, there was enough evidence that they were the same animals that the zoo took them into its care.

Memphis Zoo curator Steve Reichling said news about how the animals were found was "horrible. Horrible. We produced 80 to 100 baby crocs and were not intending to keep them, and the vast majority went out to other zoos and to private people," he said. "Terry Cullen was involved in a crocodile advisory group and he had good credentials, and we lent him animals in hopes they would thrive and breed."
Florida to Wisconsin

He said Cullen's organization had sent the zoo required questionnaires about the condition of the animals but that "as the 1990s wore on, the responses got less frequent. All the reports were that the animals were doing well. We don't investigate afterwards. Something horrible happened during those years."

Zoo Miami, which had lent Cullen endangered African slender-snouted crocodiles in 1992, required him to fill out a yearly questionnaire about the condition of the animals and where they were being kept. The officials at the zoo were "under the assumption" that the animals were being kept in a Florida facility Cullen ran, according to Cindy Castelblanco, spokeswoman for the zoo.

However, the last time Zoo Miami received an updated questionnaire about the animals it was not signed by Cullen, and the questionnaire was sent from Milwaukee, not Florida, according to Zoo Miami.

Castelblanco said the animals were originally lent to Cullen in 1992 because the zoo's reptile trailer was "blown away by Hurricane Andrew. There was no other appropriate location to house them after they grew too large for the hand-rearing area."

Zoo Miami took back the animals from MADACC recently and has terminated its loan agreement with Cullen. The reptiles "arrived back here safely," said Castelblanco, and are in "a quarantine area with outdoor pens and access to water. After that they'll be permanently housed in outdoor pens with water and grass."

The Bronx Zoo issued a statement about the endangered Chinese alligators it had lent Cullen in 1991 on the recommendation of a zoo association planning program.

"We now know the information provided by Mr. Cullen regarding the facilities, location, husbandry and conditions in which the animals would be kept was clearly and deliberately misrepresented to us. As soon as we were alerted to the reality of the situation by the authorities, we took immediate action to retrieve the animals."

The Gladys Porter Zoo, which, according to MADACC, took back critically endangered Philippine crocodiles it had lent to Cullen, did not reply to Journal Sentinel questions about the animals.

Anthony Cotton, Cullen's attorney, said by e-mail: "The animals at issue in this case were largely healthy and in good shape at the time they were seized. Those that weren't were sent to Mr. Cullen in the same or worse condition than they were found."

The Milwaukee County Zoo did not have any animals on loan to Cullen, and only rarely lends out animals to institutions without zoo association accreditation, according to Bruce Beehler, deputy director of the zoo. The zoo helped MADACC care for many of the animals in the seizure and aided with the shipping of many of the animals to new homes, according to Sobel.

Beehler said of the Cullen reptile loans: "If a person is recognized as an expert in the field, as was Cullen, there's a point you believe them. It's possible for people to change their ways - to lie, etc. There have been cases in the past where institutions that have been reputable changed management or ownership and then the zoos found out and the zoos pulled their animals."

Beehler said that zoos typically lend out animals for space reasons or to ensure a species is "genetically viable for the long term. Occasionally you'll have an animal that doesn't work out in a collection. Some animals are designated by AZA as surplus because of genetics."
'A Pandora's box'

Ann-Elizabeth Nash, director of the Colorado Reptile Humane Society and a well-known reptile care expert, said it's not unusual for major zoos to lend animals to non-accredited institutions where they may be ill-treated.

"Decades-long transfers of the animals don't make any sense. There is either an institutional commitment to the animal or there isn't," she said. "This is a Pandora's box. Not many people know about this, but numbers-wise this kind of thing is going to make puppy mill seizures a joke. There is this behind-the-scenes interaction between AZA institutions and institutions not AZA. What is the level of self-policing the AZA does? What are the vetting protocols to loan to non-AZA? There is a feeling that if the animal doesn't have fur, it's not something we need to worry about."

Feldman, of the zoo association, said the lending policy requires that appropriate records be kept about animals' care, as well as annual monitoring, and that the association "responds to tips and information" about facilities that mistreat animals that are on loan from zoo association-accredited institutions.

"We have a professional community that has very high standards," he said. He added that the Cullen case was "an evolving situation" and that "we're always looking at our policies and procedures, and it could cause us to re-examine them."

Sobel said she's glad that the zoos that own the animals are taking them back.

"It's very upsetting looking at these wild animals in our care knowing that they cannot fulfill their natural and instinctual behaviors," she said. "It certainly is no semblance of a life for these animals."

I realize this is a necro thread but there is an update.

Reptile expert sues city over 2010 raids, seizure of exotic animals

Six years after Milwaukee police broke into Terry Cullen's properties, killed his dogs and seized hundreds of lizards, snakes and crocodiles, the internationally known reptile expert has asked a federal court to award him more than $4.4 million in damages.

The May 2010 raids made national news, as police and wildlife officials claimed the exotic animals were being illegally possessed or mistreated, all claims disputed by Cullen, who was ultimately cleared of a variety of charges.

Cullen's lawsuit accuses police of lying to get search warrants, ignoring less destructive options for conducting their investigation, and leaving his business and reputation in tatters, all in violation of his civil rights.

The raids were prompted by an Illinois woman who told authorities that Cullen had assaulted her during a visit to one of his Milwaukee residences to discuss an internship with his reptile rescue and rehabilitation operation.

In 2012, prosecutors acknowledged the victim had serious credibility issues, and agreed to dismiss two felonies based on the woman's claims and several misdemeanors related to Cullen's care and storage of the animals, in exchange for Cullen pleading no contest to fourth-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor, as part of a deferred prosecution. After he met various conditions of the agreement, the conviction was vacated.

Cullen's friend and business associate, Jane Flint, was also arrested and charged in 2010, but prosecutors later dismissed all charges against her. She filed her own civil rights suit against the city in 2014 over the execution of the dogs, Tibetan mastiffs named Tong and Pogo. That case recently settled.

Many of the seized animals later died.

Cullen blamed a lack of knowledge about the creatures, many of them exotic snakes, lizards and alligators, many on loan from zoos.

His lawsuit estimates the value of all the seized wildlife inventory at $2 million. It also accuses police of taking guns, computers, tools, cash and jewelry from the four residences they searched without waiting for offered assistance from Cullen's staff.

"Instead Defendants deliberately and recklessly rushed to conclusions and took actions that were patently unfair and which violated Plaintiffs' clearly established constitutional rights including their rights to due process, and freedom from unreasonable searches, seizures and permanent deprivations; amongst others," the suit reads in part.

In addition to the damages sought for the lost animals, Cullen seeks another $2 million in lost income, and more than $400,000 for his costs to repair damage to his four properties caused by the raids and subsequent alleged failure by the city to secure them adequately, and for repairing his reputation on the internet, where stories of his case spread around the reptile conservation world.

It also seeks unspecified punitive damages.

Police knew for about a week before they served a search warrant at one residence owned by Cullen, where Flint was staying, that there were four large dogs inside. The day of the search, Flint told detectives she would come home immediately from work to confine or remove the dogs before officers conducted the search for endangered reptiles, or could have a friend get the dogs sooner.

But officers, including members of a tactical team, did not wait. After they entered, they shot two of the dogs with assault rifles, shortly before Flint arrived. The surviving dogs, Mung and Shombu, were led out in catch nooses.

Contrary to Milwaukee police policy, no use of force report was written about the shooting of the dogs until months later, according to Cullen's suit, and video being taken by police stops right before the dogs are killed before restarting again after they're dead.

The suit names as defendants two police officers, several yet to be named individuals in the Police Department, the city and a yet to be identified insurance company. The city attorney's office does not comment on pending litigation.