HADLEY — It’s been a place for rescued farm animals that are abused, neglected or otherwise uncared for to live out their lives in a compassionate setting, providing room for them to heal and to also meet up with human visitors.
On Wednesday afternoon, though, an investigation into animal neglect by the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals led to the removal of more than 150 animals, a majority of which are farm birds such as chickens and geese, from the Cloa’s Ark property. The final count was 315.
By Thursday, all that remained at the 23 Lawrence Plain Road site were empty buildings, sheds, fenced-in areas, along with chicken coops and cages and rabbit hutches, all of which were being cleaned out by owner Patrick Veistroffer of Northampton.
The statewide organization hasn’t confirmed this is the location of its operation and doesn’t yet have details on the charges that could be brought.
Veistroffer told the Gazette he isn’t able to comment on the situation or what happened to the once populated 5-acre site.
What is evident is the animals are no longer there. Gone are the domestic birds, including cockatiels, parrots, parakeets, doves and pigeons, farm birds like chickens, ducks, turkeys and peafowls, and the goats, cows, pigs, sheep, rabbits and one pony, and some wildlife that was allegedly being kept illegally as pets, like a deer and some Canada geese.
“Removing the animals was a huge operation that took hours,” MSPCA-Angell Law Enforcement Director Chris Schindler said in a statement. “It took dozens of our own staff in law enforcement and several other departments, as well as a lot of help from Hadley Police.”
Following their removal, the animals were brought to MSPCA-Angell facilities across the state, where they have been undergoing initial examinations to determine their medical needs and to score their body condition so their nutrition needs can be met.
“We know that a lot of the animals are very underweight and displaying signs consistent with being housed outdoors in cold weather without adequate access to food, water and shelter,” Schindler said. They will be a challenge for the organization, with more animals than smaller rescue organizations take in during an entire year, he added.
MassWildlife and Massachusetts Environmental Police are both assisting the MSPCA.
Set in the woods behind homes and next to a farm, this is the second location where Cloa’s Ark has operated in Hadley. The first, after moving from Deerfield in summer 2018, was a small field on Route 9 in front of Pulse Cafe, which marked the nonprofit’s seventh move in eight years.
Cloa’s Ark has been operating on the generosity of volunteers and donations since first opening in Marlborough in 2002, starting with a rescued cockatiel. With a $30,000 budget used to feed the animals, to buy hay and grain, and pay for veterinary bills, there has been no money for any full-time staff. The enterprise has also got fruits and vegetables being discarded by local supermarkets.
But there have been challenges in the past, with part of the reason for moving from the field in front of Pulse the lack of oversight, with animals allegedly being overcrowded in there and even getting stuck in a fence for hours at a time before being freed.
Veistroffer and his wife, Claudine, are both French immigrants, incorporating as a nonprofit while at Sirius Community in Shutesbury in 2009, and by 2013 their home base was on another rented property in Shutesbury, with an overflow site in New Salem.
The itinerant couple and the animals at their sanctuary were in Greenfield for a time, but were evicted from that property in 2016 with 120 animals in tow, and relocated to the more rural Charlemont.
A year later, they were ordered to vacate the camper they were living in because it didn’t provide habitable conditions for humans, but were reluctant to leave if it meant being separated from the animals. They eventually did move from Charlemont to Deerfield.
