[FEL-L] Lions and tigers and bears denied

[GemOJungle at aol.com]

Lions and tigers and bears denied
Ruling prohibits Copley Township man from selling or displaying exotic  
animals
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
A federal administrative judge has ruled that a Summit County man cannot  
exhibit or sell exotic animals. 
Lorenza Pearson, who operates L&L Exotic Animal Farm in Copley Township,  
apparently will be allowed to keep his lions, tigers, bears and other animals  
under the ruling by Victor W. Palmer, a U.S. Department of Agriculture  
administrative law judge. 
In a 47-page ruling signed on April 6, Palmer revoked Pearson's federal  
license to show and sell exotic animals and ruled that Pearson is permanently  
disqualified from obtaining such a license. 
Palmer rejected a request by the Agriculture Department that Pearson be fined 
 $100,000 for failing to care for his animals in compliance with federal  
rules. 
The orders will take effect May 11, barring an appeal by Pearson. 
Efforts to reach Pearson and his attorney, William T. Whitaker, on Friday  
were unsuccessful. 
Pearson was cited by Palmer for 26 violations of the federal Animal Welfare  
Act between Jan. 5, 2000, and Feb. 22, 2006. 
The violations ``were in every sense egregious, obvious violations of the  
(federal) act and the regulations that substantially endangered the health and  
well-being of the animals Mr. Pearson kept at his facility for exhibition,''  
Palmer wrote. 
``The fact that many of these violations were often uncorrected and  
persistent requires, in addition to the issuance of a cease-and-desist order,  the 
revocation of Mr. Pearson's exhibitor license as the only effective way to  
prevent their future occurrence.'' 
The judge called the conditions for the animals ``deplorable.'' 
``Inadequate drainage of pens housing the animals was a chronic problem that  
was never fully remedied and the animals frequently had to endure the 
discomfort  of staying wet,'' he wrote. 
``When water receptacles froze in the winter, the animals had no water to  
drink. In the summer when water was accessible, the water receptacles were  
dirty. 
``If the hibernation of the bears that he denned in forced hibernation was  
interrupted, there was no food or water available to them. And some of the 
bears  were kept, as were some lions and tigers, in enclosures that were too small 
for  their comfort.'' 
Palmer rejected Pearson's defense that his problems with federal inspectors  
stemmed from his failure to cooperate with veterinarian Norma Harlan in an  
investigation of another exotic-animal exhibitor. That led federal inspectors to 
 seek revenge against him through repeated inspections, Pearson claimed. 
It is not clear whether Pearson will be permitted to keep his license during  
an appeal. 
Termination of the federal license also could mean that the inspections of  
Pearson's facility on Columbus Avenue by federal inspectors will end. 
On June 14, 2002, the Agriculture Department cited Pearson for 900 violations 
 of its animal-care rules. He was accused of committing numerous, willful  
violations of federal rules, including inadequate medical care and nutrition,  
dirty conditions and inadequate facilities. 
Pearson faced a fine of up to $3,750 per violation. 
Between 1999 and 2005, Pearson had as many as 82 animals at the same time --  
mostly exotic cats and bears, Palmer said in his report. 
The number of animals that Pearson had varied at times, but he had a  
medium-sized exotic animal operation, Palmer noted. 
Testimony in the case was heard in Akron in September 2003 and June 2006. 
Conditions at the Copley site were horrible, according to veterinarian Dr.  
Albert Lewandowski, who works at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and accompanied  
federal inspectors on a 2005 inspection. 
``The facility is squalid,'' he wrote in a report. He said he was shocked  
that a USDA-licensed operation would ``have facilities as bad as this.'' 
He said Pearson's facilities were ``dirty, unkept, uncared for, just general  
neglect, just a facility that had been neglected not just recently, but for a 
 long period of time. The animals were living under conditions that just 
weren't  appropriate for any type of animal.'' 
In 2005, seven of Pearson's bears were judged to be undernourished and  
suffering from malnutrition. They were confiscated by federal inspectors and  
removed from Pearson's care. 
 
  
____________________________________
 Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or 
_bdowning at thebeaconjournal.com_ (mailto:bdowning at thebeaconjournal.com) 





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