Montco Farm Sanctuary Charged With Animal Abuse, Torture

WORCESTER, PA — A local farm animal sanctuary that had raised nearly $70,000 from the public following a recent fire has sparked outrage from rescues around the region after the owners were charged with animal abuse and torture.

Some 40 animals were killed and many more were injured or missing following a fire at the House of Wiggle Goats in Worcester in late May.

While the case drew a massive public response and sympathy, including a GoFundMe started in their name, authorities say the owners have left their animals in horrible conditions.

Erin Beth Wiggle, 46, and Michael Wiggle, 52, of Lansdale, have been charged with four counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and torture, five counts of animal neglect related to lack of drinking water, and five counts of animal neglect related to lack of proper veterinary care, according to court documents.

Other animal rescues which attempted to offer assistance to the House of Wiggle Goats after the blaze say that they were met with aggression.

"When our volunteers reached out to House of Wiggle Goats to help with the vet care, supplies and hands on care for rabbits they had taken in, we did not expect this to be the outcome," the Wilkes-Barre-based Bunny Brigade shared in a social media post detailing the conditions at the farm. "We were cussed at, chastised, and blocked from their social medias. They pulled a significant amount of animals from high kill shelters and auctions, and so many rabbits came so close to being in our care."

Specifically, Bunny Brigade and others cited horrific living conditions for animals, as well as dead animals "rotting" around the property. Toms River, New Jersey-based Eastern Snouts Adoption said their volunteers witnessed lack of basic shelter, poor and nutritionally deficient diets, "rampant" disease and parasites, and much more.

"Sometimes it takes tragedy to reveal the unthinkable," Eastern Snouts shared. "That tragedy was a barn fire. A fire that ultimately exposed the horrifying reality behind the doors of a so-called '501(c)(3) rescue.' What we and so many others discovered was not a safe haven for animals — it was a place of unimaginable suffering."

Screenshots of since-deleted social media posts by House of Wiggle Goats argue that animals were either in poor condition when they arrived at the farm, or that they were injured in the fire. The sanctuary has since deleted all their social media profiles.

Just last week, however, as allegations swirled, the creator of the GoFundMe reassured donors that funds were being used for surgeries, describing a goat with burns to his eyelids and sharing photos of his recovery.

She also vehemently denied the accusations levied at the Wiggles.

"I am sure the pictures will be stolen, used for malice and other rescues to attempt to gain followers for donations," GoFundMe organizer Shaina Columbia said. "Anyone that truly knows the Wiggle’s also knows that they would never do what is being done to them. If you email me with negativity and bullying, I will put you on blast, I do not screw around."

While allegations surfaced in early June, charges were not filed against the Wiggles until Wednesday, when they were arrested by animal control officers, court documents show. They are both awaiting preliminary hearings, which have not yet been scheduled.