'Heart-Wrenching': Rescuers Find 30 Abandoned Rabbits, Many Dead

CALVERTON, NY — Animal rescuers say the images of 30 abandoned rabbits — many dead — that they found in Calverton, are impossible to erase from their minds and hearts.

According to the Suffolk County SPCA, on Sunday, Kathi Willi, 59, and Matthew Melton, 52, of Ridge, were arrested and charged with violations of Agriculture and Markets Law Section 355, animal abandonment, a misdemeanor.

Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk County SPCA, said that on July 5, the SPCA was contacted by a rescue group; a subsequent investigation by SPCA detectives led to the arrests of Willi and Melton, who were charged with 30 counts of abandonment of the domestic rabbits in a wooded area in Calverton.

According to Jackie Roche, who runs the Broken Antler Wildlife Rescue in Riverhead with Joe Rocco, on July 5, her rescue organization got a call at 7 a.m. about a few loose rabbits.

"Well, a few turned into five, 10, 15, 30," she said. Of the 30, 14 were found dead but 16 were found alive, she said.

"We assembled a team, not knowing what we were walking into," she said. "Our search ran all day, all night. Finally, at 1 a.m., we said we'd regroup. Then in the morning, the search went on until this Sunday."

The SPCA and local authorities were notified immediately and a few tips led to the arrests, Roche said. "Domestic rabbits do not know how to survive in the wild," she said.

Involved in the search were Roche and Rocco, Karen Boris Johnson with All About Rabbits Rescue, Lisa Jaeger with Jaeger's Run Animal Rescue Inc., Gary Kaufman with the Nobody Starves On Long Island animal sanctuary, food pantry, and rescue, Veronica Marie and Ron Fisk, who reached out for help after finding the initial few rabbits, and Marissa Gregory, who alerted the Broken Antler of the situation, Roche said.

Describing what she found, Roche said: "As we drove down Grumman Blvd. it was like a rabbit massacre, body after body. It was heart-wrenching! These poor rabbits didn't deserve this. I am so grateful to have worked with all of these fellow rescuers. Their dedication and compassion really shined bright. Justice will be served."

Rocco added that while he was "disgusted" to find the bodies of rabbits sprawled on the roadway and the situation was grim, he was heartened by the positive outcome, "from getting justice for the rabbits to seeing multiple rescues coming together for one course of action."

Jaeger, too, expressed gratitude to her fellow rescue organizations, "who put the love and time into saving these defenseless animals, giving them a voice and bringing the animal abusers to justice."

"A life is a life," Kaufman said. "This was a hard one to swallow, but together we got these rabbits well-deserved justice."

Boris Johnson said she knew she had found the "dumping ground" Monday when she came to two deceased domestic rabbits on the side of the street.

"As an animal lover, a rescuer, a vegan, and a compassionate person, no words can describe the feeling of standing over a dozen dead bodies, rabbits whose lives didn’t matter to the very people who intentionally brought them into this world," she said. "They matter to me, though. Their lifeless bodies are in my nightmares. The overwhelming smell of death is haunting. I am forever changed by this experience, by the 14 lives senselessly and violently lost. The best I can do is channel that energy to help improve the lives of the 16 who were saved — thanks to the efforts of all the rescuers who were part of this massive rescue, as well as the adopters and foster caregivers."

Gross said the SPCA wanted to thank the rescue groups for their intensive, night and day search. The rabbits found alive are being cared for by rescue organizations, he said.