Terry Cullen raided

[Foschi Exotic Serpents]

This isn't looking so good.. They are rubbing it in real good..

"Police raided what is believed to be 60-year-old Terry Cullen's residence on Monday and emerged carrying a frozen alligator.

They also found a dead snake carcass, but no live animals.

Neighbor Jim Sinicki watched police search the home and took pictures.

"There's no telling what he had in there before the police came by," Sinicki said. "I just want to know some answers, like why is he doing this."

Meanwhile, a warehouse used by Cullen is now boarded up and condemned by the city.

Last week authorities removed some 250 exotic animals from the property and another 60 creatures from his girlfriend's home.

Five giant anacondas were among the animals seized.

Alderman Jim Witkowiak, who represents the near south side, is calling for Cullen to come forward.

"A lot of the reptiles in here were basically neglected," Witkowiak said. "I just wish he would come forth and cooperate with the police."

On a YouTube video, Cullen urges people to call him with donations for his reptile rescue fund.

He answered that phone last week and told police he was in Connecticut, but has yet to turn himself in.

An attorney who has represented Cullen said he had "no comment" when reached by a reporter Monday.

Police began looking at the addresses as part of a sexual assault complaint, but have not named the target of that investigation.


NBC"

http://www.ksdk.com/news/national/st...storyid=202327

[MarkS]

They can not legaly give away anything UNLESS they go thru the courts and are awarded them.Then IF they really care about them they will screen the adoptees and only after each reptile is cleared as being healthy they can adopt them out.They could not have done this process in 3 days.They also have to have Terry in court to give his side.

Yes they can. I read this in one of the articles. 'Cullen likely violated Milwaukee city ordinances that make it illegal to house non-domesticated or dangerous animals.' If that's the case, they can confiscate his animals and do whatever they wish with them whether he's guilty of anything else or not.

[bsd13]

You know this whole "raid" sounds like a bunch of crap in my opinion.No judge is going to sign a warrant to raid someones storage building looking for a sexual assualt suspect.They have noted several times Terry is well known and has assisted them numerous times.So why are they taking his reptiles? I am sure he has EVERY permit needed.I think everyone needs to back off and wait until we hear from Terry

I'm willing to bet a judge will sign a warrant to go anywhere that a sexual assault suspect is believed to be, including a warehouse.

Being well known, even highly regarded and respected doesn't somehow give anyone a free pass to break the law. I don't care if he fed 100 homeless children a night he's still accountable for whatever his actions might be.

If he had every permit needed part of the charges wouldn't be that he has animals he doesn't have permits to keep.

They are taking his reptiles because they were neglected, and he didn't have permits for a number of them. Nothing more, nothing less.

We'd all love to hear from Terry Cullen. Funny thing is he's not shown his face. And by now he has no excuse and no one can say "Maybe he doesn't know about it"

[LoboGfx]

Lil Update in the case, Cullen Finally in Wisconsin

Here's the entire statement from Terry Cullen:"I have been trying to deal with this Machiavellian nightmare while out of town and gravely ill. Far from "being on the run" I have been back in town with my attorneys for the past two days engaged in the appropriate, necessary legal formalities. I am overwhelmingly concerned for the well being of our animals; the terrible stresses that they have been subjected to and their transport to utterly unfamiliar surroundings. My heart truly breaks at the very thought of the loss of my best friends and loyal companions, Pogo and Kong, our two dogs. You have no concept of our pain at their loss. While the much of the media has vilified and excoriated me with inaccuracies, half-truths and shameful sensationalism, the truth lies far, far from their irresponsible, knee-jerk rantings. Jane and I have devoted our all to conservation. Our shattered lives and reputations have been our reward." Terry Cullen

http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-100...,6450177.story

[wilomn]

They are taking his reptiles because they were neglected, and he didn't have permits for a number of them. Nothing more, nothing less.

I must have missed it. It sounds as if you are stating a well known and verified fact.

Could you show me this verification you seem so confident in?

Thank you.

[joepythons]

I'm willing to bet a judge will sign a warrant to go anywhere that a sexual assault suspect is believed to be, including a warehouse.

Being well known, even highly regarded and respected doesn't somehow give anyone a free pass to break the law. I don't care if he fed 100 homeless children a night he's still accountable for whatever his actions might be.

If he had every permit needed part of the charges wouldn't be that he has animals he doesn't have permits to keep.

They are taking his reptiles because they were neglected, and he didn't have permits for a number of them. Nothing more, nothing less.

We'd all love to hear from Terry Cullen. Funny thing is he's not shown his face. And by now he has no excuse and no one can say "Maybe he doesn't know about it"

How do you know whether or not he has the proper permits? Are you going by what the media is saying? Until i see the proof that he has neglected ANY reptiles i will still be on Terrys side.Today my friend Eric (green farmer here) and myself were talking about this.We both think this is PETA and those others that are trying to cease our hobby stunt.Who are they going to raid next with some hogwash excuse? NERD,Outback or another big name in our industry just to give us more bad reps .So before you burn Terry at the stake why not wait until we find out the WHOLE story not just the medias crap

[WingedWolfPsion]

It's already occurred to me that the only practical way to have rodents running ALL over such a place is to knock over a rat rack, and let them out.

[AaronP]

I don't get the impression this has anything to do with snakes in tubs. Floors covered in feces and not licensed to have some of the animals that were there is quite a bit different if it turns out to be true.

This.

The building ended up being condemned, there is a lot going on in this story. I think that sometimes people are too trusting of individuals with similar interests.

Think about it, as much as a lot of people dislike Big Daddy Whole Sales, and talk about how "filthy" his facility is, he hasn't been raided...

It's already occurred to me that the only practical way to have rodents running ALL over such a place is to knock over a rat rack, and let them out.

Rodent's Escape, ask anyone who breeds them, it happens. However if the rodents are not taken care of properly they're more likely to attempt to escape and will find a food source and breed outside of their controlled environment.

I'm neutral in this because I have no real interest in this story but I think people should keep an open mind about this. Here are some more links related to this that were posted on Kingsnake:

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/93861264.html

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/93861754.html

http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/93923674.html

[joepythons]

It's already occurred to me that the only practical way to have rodents running ALL over such a place is to knock over a rat rack, and let them out.

Thank you! I bet the dead ones are being thawed out to feed the reptiles to

[bsd13]

I must have missed it. It sounds as if you are stating a well known and verified fact.

Could you show me this verification you seem so confident in?

Thank you.

I think "mistreating" and "neglected" can safely be considered synonymous terms in this instance.

So here's a fact. Jane Flint was arrested for "suspicion of mistreating animals and violating regulations regarding endangered or threatened species". This is according to an official document. An arrest report. Not a document made up by peta or the HSUS but an honest to God document created by an officer of the law. And before someone starts talking about police corruption, don't bother. There's too many agencies involved for it to be the police trying to set someone up.

Jane E. Flint, who told police she lived in the building at 2323 S. 13th St., was arrested Wednesday and is in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail. She is being held on suspicion of mistreating animals and violating regulations regarding endangered or threatened species, according to the arrest report.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/93800689.html

This next part speaks for itself. Cullen himself claimed not to need a permit for exotics due to a consulting arrangement. The director of the Wisconsin Humane Society says some of the animals might have been covered, but not all of them.

If he claims not to need a permit chances are pretty good he doesn't have one. Time will tell to what extent the animals he kept were or were not covered under the consulting agreement. It will also tell if maybe he misunderstood the extent that the animals were covered under the agreement.

Cullen told investigators he doesn't need a permit for the exotic animals because of his consulting agreement with the Wisconsin Humane Society.

A limited number of Cullen's animals may have been covered by the humane society's licenses, but certainly not all of them, according to Executive Director Anne Reed. She said she is "surprised and concerned" about what authorities found at Cullen's properties.
http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/93861264.html

I'm all for giving someone the benefit of the doubt and I understand the desire to circle the wagons to protect one of our own, but it seems like the evidence we have access to is mounting against the guy. No doubt we all look forward to hearing his side of the story, but in a nutshell this is what we have so far -

1) Police served a search warrant and found the place in shambles. I know there's been several comments about how the search warrant is probably illegitimate, but those accusations have no basis on anything solid that I've come across. They appear to be based on emotion and a dislike of peta/hsus in general. Some have even suggested that peta somehow setup Terry Cullen to make him look bad because they don't like people having pets. Which leads me to my next point...

2) The building has been condemned. If a health inspection condemned the building this quickly that a pretty good bet something is really amiss.

A few people have said that the conditions could get bad in very short order with that many animals and too little help. Sure they could get bad, but condemnation indicates a public health hazard. A few piles of snake poops and dead rats don't equate to condemnation. Something had to be going on over the long term.

The question is how long has peta had an inside person going behind Terry Cullen, and Jane Flint spreading poop and the corpses of dead rodents around to the point where the building needs to be condemned?

3) They've removed somewhere between 250 and 300 animals and no reports indicate they were well cared for. Not from the zoo representatives, the police officers, the city workers, the neighbors, or even the humane society. Unless everyone involved is out to get Terry Cullen I'd expect there to be some kind of positive spin on this whole situation in his favor by someone. But I've not heard it, have you?

4) Terry Cullen has himself said he doesn't need permits for the animals. Which is a pretty good indication he doesn't have them. If you claim not to need it you probably won't bother going through the time and expenses to acquire it.