Fairview NJ Police Chief Kahn Allegedly Delights in Drowning Innocent Animals

FROM HSUS/NEW JERSEY RE POTENTIAL CRIMINAL ANIMAL CRUELTY

Yesterday we received a disturbing tip alleging that Fairview, New Jersey Police Chief Martin Kahn had produced and promoted an instructional video showing how to trap and drown “nuisance” animals in your own backyard. This appears to run afoul of multiple state laws regarding animal cruelty (Title 4:22-17) and criminal activity (Title 2C:5-1). Inflicting such cruel treatment onto animals isn’t just unethical, it is illegal!

Upon originally verifying the validity of the initial complaint, we believe that this situation warrants further investigation by the New Jersey OAG’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability under the state Attorney General’s Office.

We have the utmost respect for our state’s law enforcement. When there are situations like these that erode the integrity of our faith in law enforcement, especially when innocent animals are at stake, we must take them seriously. We are including the video which was taken directly from the chief’s Instagram profile before it was removed, for the public to judge for themselves.

We encourage you to contact the AG’s office at https://nj.gov/oag/opia/ and join us and other organizations calling for a full investigation of this matter.

In the video, the chief admits to the past killing of numerous animals by the methods he is promoting in the video. The trapping, torment, and drowning of animals on individual personal property outside the legal regulations of hunting and trapping is NOT permitted in New Jersey. Here’s the video: https://www.facebook.com/HSUSNewJersey/videos/255892582224349/?t=14

 

Finally, Animal Cruelty is Rewarded with Jail Time

A Staten Island man was sentenced to 300 days in jail Friday on animal cruelty charges for inflicting serious injuries on a dog that resulted in the animal’s death.

I don’t have statistics, but it is common knowledge that animal abuse, even the killing of innocent animals, rarely results in jail or prison time.  It’s a problem in our society – many of us truly care about animal welfare, but not enough of us are putting pressure on legislatures and law enforcement agencies to do what they should: enact strong laws and enforce them.

Information about the conviction and sentencing of Nicholas Piccolino can be found here.