Federal and local authorities are cracking down on animal sacrifices in Queens after an alarming number of chickens, pigs, and rats have been killed, mutilated, or tortured.
NYC Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) announced the “huge win for local animals” earlier this month. She said in a statement posted on Facebook that the National Park Service will deploy mobile lighting units and more Parks Enforcement Patrols will be added to the “trouble zones.”
"I promised my constituents that we would bring an end to these heinous mutilations and killings, and through these actions we are doing just that," she said. "No animal deserves to suffer like this, and I refuse to allow it in my District. Together, we will end this. Enough is enough."
The action comes after a New York Post exposé on what's happening in the NYC borough.
In a little over a month, at least nine wounded animals or carcasses have been discovered in the federally-managed Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach and the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel — including five live pigs with partially severed ears.
Creatures recovered from the revolting scene also include a near-dead baby rat tied up in a bag with chicken bones; a freshly-decapitated chicken head; a live hen in distress; and a dead dog with its neck snapped.
“It’s continually getting worse. The animal sacrifices are happening more repeatedly, more times a week,” Sloane Quealy, co-founder and president of Zion’s Mission Animal Rescue, told The Post.
“The sacrificers know it’s open season.”
One of the distressed pigs was found emaciated in a food-filled crate in July, with a deep gash running down its face and its body covered in oils and spices, said Kristen Latuga, who has taken in all five of the ailing swine at her Long Island animal sanctuary, Brucie’s Angels.
Several rescuers and a local religious leader suggested the torture was linked to a sect of Hindu devotees who worship the goddess Kali and have practiced animal sacrifice in the area surrounding Jamaica Bay for decades.
“It’s a misconstruing of what the scriptures say about conquering the animalistic values,” said Acharya Arun Gossai, who runs the Bhuvaneshwar Mandir temple in Ozone Park.
“They’ve twisted it and they’ve sacrificed an actual animal rather than sacrificing the animalistic qualities of man.”
Jamaica Bay has been a popular religious site among members of the Hindu Guyanese and Indo-Caribbean diaspora living in nearby neighborhoods, including Richmond Hill and Ozone Park. [...]
Followers of other religions whose rituals involve animal sacrifice, such as Santeria and voodoo, also have been known to use beaches and parks surrounding Jamaica Bay to carry out bloody rites. (New York Post)
Nothing to see here folks, move on. pic.twitter.com/5LCeL6rbWH
— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) September 16, 2024
The animal sacrifice problem in Queens comes as the question of whether Haitians in Ohio are eating pets has been hotly debated.
