Residents & Officials Tackle Animal Sacrifices
Screenshot
By Katie McFadden
Chicken carcasses, dead mice inside coconuts, goat heads, live pigs with ears and tails cut off, even a dead dog with a broken neck. These are just a few of the horrific things being found on the beaches near the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge to Howard Beach, with similar reports in Sunset Cove in Broad Channel. Religious animal sacrifices and offerings around Jamaica Bay have been an issue for decades around these areas, but as Councilwoman Joann Ariola said at a recent rally after a heavy increase in such activities over the summer, “It’s never been worse than it is right now, and it has to stop.”
After seeing posts about the horrors shared on Howard Beach and Broad Channel social media pages from residents and rescue groups working hard to combat it, Howard Beach resident Angelica Katz and Broad Channel resident Jeanette Tuffy decided to organize a Coalition Against Animal Cruelty Rally on Sunday, September 8, near the parking lot for the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge. About 60 Rockaway, Broad Channel and Howard Beach residents turned out for the last-minute rally to express their disgust over the recent activities.
Around July 22, Howard Beach residents started to spot a malnourished live pig around the beaches by the bridge and called in reinforcements to conduct a rescue. On August 11, another was spotted. With combined efforts of animal loving volunteers, local rescues Zion’s Mission and Sasha’s Mission, Howard Beach’s FDNY 331/173, the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department & Ambulance Corp. and U.S. Park Police, the pigs were captured, and rescuer Brucie’s Angels stepped up to care for them. Brucie’s Angels reported ears sliced off, tails sliced off and slashes on the pigs’ faces, along with respiratory and skin infections. On September 2, it happened again. Two more pigs were spotted on the beach and rescue efforts were underway. But they wound up rescuing three additional pigs, for a total of five this summer.
These live animal discoveries have been found alongside burn sites, bones, religious statues and paraphernalia and more. Zion’s Mission attributes what they’re now calling “sacrifice shores” to acts carried out by a “rogue Hindu sect and black magic Santeria.”
The right to sacrifice animals for religious reasons was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993. However, in New York, animal cruelty is a felony, punishable by up to two years in prison.
On Sunday, Tuffy, Katz, Zion’s Mission, Councilwoman Joann Ariola, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato and others came together to speak out on the practices and to call for its end, or at the very least, more to be done to deter it.
“This has been happening in our backyard for too long and we cannot wait around any longer expecting it to stop without taking action,” Katz said. “We need to join together and ensure our parks remain safe.” Tuffy added, “It’s not enough to love animals, we must advocate for them.”
“Zion’s Mission is dedicated to ending the animal cruelty and animal sacrifices that have plagued our community for too long. We, along with Sasha’s Mission, have been rescuing animals under the Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Bridge and vigilantly monitoring the area for weeks, and we do not plan to stop anytime soon,” said Maribel Cosme-Vitagliani, Director of Marketing and Community Outreach for Zion’s Mission Animal Rescue.
Upon getting word about the cruel activities, Councilwoman Ariola started working on getting things done, contacting Rep. Gregory Meeks’ office as he oversees federal issues and these activities have been taking place on federal land. “In the dark of night, these heinous evil crimes are taking place against these vulnerable animals,” Ariola said at the rally. “How dare they, in the name of religion, mutilate an animal. This is something I’m committed to.” She called for more police presence from the National Park Service’s U.S. Park Police, more lighting for the areas where this has been happening and cameras in the areas to deter this activity.
“I’m so disgusted at the behavior of anyone that would take advantage of an animal,” Pheffer Amato said at the rally. “This behavior has got to stop.” She also called for more enforcement in the area, mentioning the issue with U.S. Park Police being based in Staten Island and covering a large area from Brooklyn to Queens. “We need our own watch here,” she said. Pheffer Amato also called for more fencing to be added to the areas to deter trespassing.
On Tuesday, September 10, Ariola shared some good news. “The National Park Service has pledged to deploy mobile lighting units in the area, which will potentially deter those seeking to use the cover of darkness for their actions. Additionally, we have also secured a promise of increased Parks Police patrols in the trouble zones. We have also spoken with our partners at the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and have gotten a commitment from them to deploy additional Parks Enforcement Patrols to the Sunset Cove area to deter activity there. Finally, we are also working with the NYPD 100th Precinct to boost patrols to the parking lots on the south side of the Addabbo Bridge, where some of these sacrifices have been known to take place.”
If anyone sees any animal cruelty activity in federal areas, reach out to the U.S. Park Police at 718-354-4700. For city areas, call 911. Also, advise Zion’s Mission by sending an email to sloane@zionsmission.org
Sunday’s rally was just the start as the coalition hopes to get all interested parties together for a roundtable discussion and more. If you wish to join the activist efforts, email coalitionagainstanimalcruelty@gmail.com
To help the animal rescues aiding in these efforts with vet bills and other costs, donations can be made to Zion’s Mission on their website: www.zionsmission.org and Brucie’s Angels through Venmo: brucies_angels or PayPal: BruciesAngelsInc
