Court:

We fought the Court to drop the charges as the NJ Fish & Game searched the property before acquiring a search warrant.  They didn’t know if they had any evidence to get a search warrant, so they had to look before asking for one.  They caging area is 250 feet back from the main road in the woods.  There are trees surrounding the caging area.  It is not visible from the road and there are no trespassing signs posted around the property.  Judge Neustader from Superior Court denied the motion to dismiss because of the “Open Field Doctrine” which was set up for Drug Lords running methane labs.  As I understand it, in the western part of the country somewhere there was a 500 acre property with a ranch house.  There was also a building in the middle of the property with 5 or 6 fences around it and no trespassing signs.

A fly over was done and suspicion of a methane lab resulted.  The fly over was done because the law that went into effect at that time stated that a suspicious structure had to be within naked eye site from a public road.  There were no visual accessories allowed to aid in any visual contact.  Law enforcement went past the signs and fences and arrested everyone involved with the methane lab.

This law has now been applied to allow trespassing in my case.  There was no fly over done by NJ Fish & Game over the caging structure.  If they had flown over they would have only seen a roof surrounded by trees, nothing suspicious.  The judge’s rule allows them to continue with the unlawful acts that they have been practicing for years.

How does this affect you?  This ruling now allows any law enforcement to search without a search warrant any “curtlidge” or building unattached to your main house such as a shed etc. if they felt there is any suspicious behavior.  If you fight it they will reference my case and you will lose.  This is another violation of every Americans Rights which has been implemented by this ruling.

The first court date after Superior Court was in Egg Harbor Township, and the negotiations went on so long court was postponed; then postponed again.  The State Attorney General had a lawyer named John Hill representing their office.  He has tried so hard to keep the media out.  The Attorney General’s Office does not want the public to know what is going on.

The last court case was heard on February 14, 2006.  All witnesses were sent out of the court to avoid everyone hearing each other’s testimony.  All of the conservation officers contradicted themselves.  All of them made up their reports between November of 2005 to January of 2006.  Don Bonica wrote his version on February 10th, 2006.  The incident happened October of 2004. Why does it take that long to write a report, and how accurate are they after all that time.  They were still legally allowed to submit them in court.  Their star witness Jay Beale (the man which starved the cat to death) admitted in court that the notes he was using to testify against me were written by Mike Massey the arresting conservation officer.  When we moved for a miss-trial it was denied.

The next court date will be May 2nd in Egg Harbor Township at 9:00am.

I am facing possible imprisonment and $60,000.00 in fines.  So is the landlord which with his kind heart allowed me to build the cage on his property.  Fines and imprisonment for helping God’s injured creatures.  If any money is collected it goes right to NJ Fish & Game directly.  They have a 10 million dollar budget with only 7 million coming in.  They make most of their money from hunting licenses.  That supports their salaries, vehicles, and pensions.  Last year they actually tapped into the state tax fund’s “public money”.  That money was used to help promote the bear hunt so they could sell more hunting licenses.  The people up north didn’t want any hunting in their back yards and are knowledgeable on the fact that black bear don’t harm the public.  No one oversees NJ Fish & Game.  They are like the IRS and do what they want.  The DEP is supposed to have a say over them, but they cannot control them either.

Now you can see the conflict of interest for NJ Fish & Game to oversee animal rehabilitators.  It’s all about money, no conservation.  In the past decade rehabilitators all over the state have had their animals taken.  They were shut down and their animals killed.  Out of approximately 100 rehabilitators in this state there are only about 25 left.  Some are state appointed and tied in with them.  They are the ones who are allowed to keep their permits without harassment.

The conservation officer who mishandled the birds was not a conservation officer.  I later found out he is rehabilitator tied in with the State of NJ.  Don Bonica from Toms River, NJ.  He killed every healthy bird he acquired from my caging area, and the state allows his activities to continue, legally, and licensed by them.

I am hoping that the next court date my preceptor who has many years experience can appear on my behalf.  She now has cancer and has been undergoing chemotherapy.  Her illness may not allow her to appear.
There are many other horror stories of rehabilitators.  There is a group which plans to get some of the stories on-line in the next few months.

To learn more on what is happening with the rehabilitators in our state, go to www.AnimalRA.org

Let’s pray that what is morally and legally right triumphs over the immoral, unethical treatment of those who try to suppress and profit off of those who sacrifice themselves to do good on this earth.

And, those who don’t appreciate their neighbors helping others (especially when it has no effect on the neighbor) to learn to mind their own business and tend to their own lives without trying to hurt others.

Please notify your local politicians, Assembly and Senators, and let them know that NJ Fish & Game have a great conflict of interest in imposing any authority on any Animal Rehabilitators in this State.

We continue to help our wildlife within the law’s requirements, as we always have.

They live because of your support!

Please become a supporting Member of the Animal Rehabilitators Alliance and help us help them!

Thank You for your support,
Marybeth Bennett
Animal Rehabilitators Alliance

Technorati Tags: alliance, animals, ara, fish and game, history, New Jersey, NJ, non-profit, rehabilitators, St. Francis Avian, story, wildlife

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