Extra Police To Be On Duty At Holtsville Ecology Center Protest

HOLTSVILLE, NY — Extra officers will be on patrol at the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department's annual tree lighting at the Holtsville Ecology Center and Animal Preserve Friday night where a protest is planned by an animal welfare group, a Suffolk police spokeswoman said.

Humane Long Island plans to protest the event to highlight what members say are questions surrounding the treatment of the animals there.

A bobcat, American Buffalo, a lynx, and a Bald eagle are some of those that reside there.

The protest comes following the death of "Honey," the black bear whom called the center home, after some have raised questions over the circumstances.

She died last month at the age of 27.

The group maintains that it has questions from eight former employees, who have concerns about why the bear, 27, died and if there was any mistreatment.

The group's president, John Di Leonardo, said that the protest will be attended by "whistleblowers" who worked at the center.

No charges have been filed and no official reports have indicated any mistreatment of the animal.

When asked if the United States Department of Agriculture was investigating or if a necropsy would be performed, a USDA spokesman told Patch that officials are "aware of the situation and we’re currently looking into it."

Di Leonardo on Friday said formal complaints have been filed with Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney's office, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and the USDA.

A spokeswoman for Tierney's office said the agency does not comment on the status of complaints.

Patch has reached out to the DEC and USDA for comment.

In a previous interview, Brookhaven Town Highways Superintendent Dan Losquadro denied any wrongdoing at the shelter and called any suggestion of it "insulting."

He said Honey became incapacitated, was no longer mobile, and could not eat, likely resulting from a stroke, which prompted the center's veterinarian's decision to euthanize her.

"She was well past the life expectancy for a bear," he said, adding that the species does not live long whether in the wild or in captivity — where he said they can live longer. "She was well past the life expectancy for a bear in captivity. She unfortunately, at a very old age, developed some very severe health problems. "

"There's really nothing more I can say about 'Honey,'" he said. "We are certainly saddened that she's no longer with us in the facility, and that people won't continue to get to see her and learn."

Town officials did meet with Di Leonardo and his group to allay any fears as to the treatment of the bear and other animals and it was his suggestion that they be transferred to sanctuaries, though that was not agreed to, Losquadro said.

As far as the protest is concerned, Losquadro said, "everyone has a right to do what they want."
"We will obviously just have to make sure people do not have the right to disrupt public assembly, so obviously we'll just have to make sure that anything going on is not disrupting the tree lighting, and people's right to come there and enjoy themselves. But people are free to do whatever they want, and I can't stop them from doing that."

Di Leonardo said his group was in talks with the town up until mid-October to move the animals to a sanctuary.

He described the conditions at the preserver as "taxpayer-funded animal abuse."

"The highway department has no place running a zoo," Di Leonardo said. "These animals are taken from one bad situation to another. I think many of these animals arguably were not rescued, and those that may have been taken from another bad situation appear to have been taken to an even worse situation."

Di Leonardo said it is "in the best interest of the animals to be sent to a correct animal sanctuary where they can live a more natural life."