Bulls Rescued From Property Near Where Dogs Were Shot, Humane LI Says

RIVERHEAD, NY — Bulls rescued from near where a dog was killed recently in Riverhead will be brought to a New Jersey sanctuary Tuesday, according to John Di Leonardo, executive director of Humane Long Island.

The bulls will head to the Tamerlaine Sanctuary & Preserve in New Jersey "after being hidden in a field," Di Leonardo said.

Less than a week after Carlos Lauro, 76, of Riverhead, pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a German Shepherd with a rifle, the three bulls found hidden on an adjacent property have found a home at the Montague sanctuary, he said.

The three bulls — now named Steve, Artie, and Robert — were found alongside 10 freezing piglets without access to food and water on a vacant property after rescuers accessed the property to remove a domestic goose who escaped Lauro's property, Di Leonardo said.

Next, on Saturday, Di Leonardo said he believed someone tried to steal the bulls by cutting a large hole in the fence to an adjoining preserve.

Humane Long Island located the bulls in time to corral them back to Lauro's property, where they will be picked up and moved to the sanctuary, he said.

Lauro pleaded guilty Thursday, to fatally shooting a dog in the head, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Lauro, 76, pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a German Shepherd with a rifle and was sentenced to one year in jail and a 20-year ban on owning or possessing animals, Tierney said.

The investigation was launched on January 10 when a one-year-old German Shepherd was taken to the VCA Veterinary Hospital in Westbury and found to be paralyzed from a gunshot wound to the head, Tierney said. According to a witness, the dog, named "Blitzkrieg," was reportedly found shot at about 5:30 p.m., laying in a pen on Lauro’s property next to a dead goat, the DA said.

When detectives with the SCDA’s biological, environmental, and animal safety team, or BEAST, arrived at Lauro’s home, they learned that about one month before, Lauro had shot and killed another German Shepherd, a six-month old puppy named "Cranky," Tierney said.

Lauro shot Cranky in the back, and when another resident of the house took the dog back inside the home in an attempt to console and treat his wounds, Lauro dragged the dog back outside and shot Cranky in the head, killing her, the DA said.

At Lauro’s home, BEAST detectives found five surviving Belgian Malinois/Dutch Shepherd mix dogs, a Border Collie, two German Shepherds, and numerous other animals, including a multitude of goats, pigs, cows, chickens, and geese, the DA said. Multiple other deceased farm animals, including a baby goat and pig, were found there, he added.

On January 11, BEAST detectives, with the assistance from the Riverhead Police Department, executed a search warrant against the premises and arrested Lauro, Tierney said.

On January 18, Lauro pleaded guilty before Riverhead Town Justice Lori Hulse, to the charge of unjustified killing of an animal, a misdemeanor, Tierney said. Lauro also pleaded guilty to third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor, stemming from an unrelated case, the DA said.

As a condition of his plea, Lauro was sentenced to one year in jail, was issued a 20-year ban on owning or possessing animals, and all the surviving animals owned by Lauro were surrendered, Tierney said.

Lauro was represented by the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County for both cases. "Our biological, environmental, and animal safety team, the Suffolk County Police Department, and the Riverhead Police Department put together a solid case, and the defendant’s only recourse was to plead guilty," said Tierney. "This kind of cruelty will not be tolerated by my office, nor the people of Suffolk County, and the swift sentence of one year in jail demonstrates that. Let this serve as a warning to anyone seeking to injure animals.

Di Leonardo said: "From being slated for slaughter to being hidden from authorities and then nearly heisted, the harrowing adventure of these three sweet bulls — now named Steve, Artie, and Robert— finds a happy ending at Tamerlaine Sanctuary & Preserve."

Also rescued were nearly 100 other animals, including piglets, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, a sheep, and a bunny, he said.

"In light of recent distressing revelations, our hearts ache upon discovering the immense suffering and loss of innocent lives inflicted by Carlos Lauro. While the shocking nature of these findings saddens us, it underscores the pressing need for action. With nearly 100 legal slaughterhouses and wet markets still operating in the New York City area, it is imperative that we intensify our efforts to put an end to the unnecessary anguish endured by animals and the associated health risks posed to NYC residents," said Gabrielle Stubbert, executive director of Tamerlaine Sanctuary & Preserve.

"Thanks to the swift action of the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office and its biological, environmental, and animal safety team, animal abuser Carlos Lauro will spend the rest of 2024 in jail and won't be allowed to own another companion animal until he is nearly 100 years old," said Di Leonardo, also an anthrozoologist.