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Black Wolf Rescue founder Robert Clifton Artois, 56, of Triangle, Virginia,
was convicted on June 1, 2005 of neglecting the 11 wolf hybrids and 18
other dogs who were removed from his premises by animal control officers
on April 18. Volunteer caretaker Cheryl Grenier discovered and reported
the conditions, including a dead dog, after Artois was jailed in Alexandria
on April 13 and called from jail to ask her to feed and water the animals.
Artois had already been warned to improve his care regimen in October
2004, and was charged with one count of neglect in November 2004. In December
2004, Prince William General District Court Judge Peter W. Steketee continued
the original neglect case until June 2005, and ordered animal control
officers to inspect Black Wolf Rescue weekly. Artois allegedly then refused
to allow animal control personnel to enter his property.
Founded circa 1992, Black Wolf Rescue raised funds through a web site.
Artois was convicted of felony larceny in 1983, and was convicted of contributing
to the delinquency of minors in 1997 and 2003, according to Maria Hegsted
of the Potomac News. The 2003 case involved a 15-year-old boy whom Artois
met via the Internet. Artois was in a sex offender treatment program,
Hegsted indicated, and may be facing fraud charges for falsely claiming
on his web site that Black Wolf Rescue has IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
BEARCAT Hollow Conviction
U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery, of Minneapolis, on June 2, 2005 sentenced
former BEARCAT Hollow wildlife park owner Nancy Kraft, 63, to serve 15
months in prison followed by two years of supervised release and 100 hours
of community service. Kraft was convicted by a jury on March 24, 2005
of seven felony counts of falsifying documents and conspiracy, in connection
with illegal sales of $200,000 worth of animals reportedly including leopards,
lions, tigers, and grizzly bears.
The animals went to “other breeders, dealers, and even a taxidermist,”
wrote Shannon Prather of Pioneer Press.
Kraft’s husband, Kenneth Kraft, 67, pleaded guilty to similar charges,
as did two other defendants. The case originally involved 55 counts filed
against nine individuals, but Montgomery dismissed 25 counts before the
trial began, and acquitted defendants Marcus Cook, of Texas, and Craig
Perry, of Montana.
Opened in 2000, housing up to 300 animals at a time, BEARCAT Hollow claimed
to be a nonprofit wildlife sanctuary, but charged an admission fee of
$10, operating more like a roadside zoo. The Krafts and BEARCAT Hollow
came under investigation after a 400-pound Siberian tiger in July 2001
injured visitor Emily Hartman, 7, of Rochester, Minnesota. “The
2001 attack was just the start of troubles at BEARCAT Hollow,” wrote
Pioneer Press reporter Prather. “In December 2001, a 10-month-old
bear escaped and damaged a neighbor’s porch. In 2003, paperwork
showed that a man who was mauled by a tiger he raised in his New York
apartment had obtained the cat from the Krafts. BEARCAT Hollow at peak
kept about 300 animals on 25 acres. It reportedly closed in 2004. In May
2005 the Krafts reportedly obtained permits to relocate about 30 animals,
including lions, tigers, and bears, to a private wildlife sanctuary in
Spearfish, South Dakota.
Patty's Angels Conviction
Patricia Aline Abezis, 51, founder of the Patty’s Angels no-kill
sanctuary in the Town of Rochester, New York [not to be confused with
the city of Rochester] was on April 29, 2005 convicted of 38 misdemeanor
counts of neglect, at her third jury trial since the charges were filed
following a November 2002 raid by Ulter County sheriff’s deputies.
The raid found 92 dogs, 24 cats, and numerous rabbits and hens without
food or water, amid conditions of filth, investigators tstified. Thirty
animals were turned over to the Ulster County SPCA, but Abezis kept more
than 100 others. Her assistant, Tracey Ann Pennington, 47, was convicted
of six counts of neglect. Charges against caretaker Michael Sickler were
dropped. The two previous trials ended as mistrials, once because of a
change in the defense council, and once due to loss on jurors.
