PETA Workers Cleared of Animal Cruelty

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Animal-rights worker apologizes for dumping animal carcasses

The Associated Press

February 1, 2007

 

WINTON, North Carolina: An animal-rights worker who dumped the bodies of

euthanized dogs and cats into a trash bin apologized in court, saying she threw

out the carcasses because they stank.

 

But Adria J. Hinkle denied Thursday she had ever promised animal shelters that

the animals taken by the well-known group People for the Ethical Treatment of

Animals would not be euthanized.

 

Hinkle and Andrew B. Cook, both PETA workers, are being tried on charges of

animal cruelty, littering and obtaining property by false pretenses. They were

arrested in June 2005 after police saw them dump bags of dead animals and found

more carcasses in their van.

 

Hinkle testified that she and Cook euthanized the animals in the back of her

van. She said they were supposed to bring the carcasses to PETA's offices in

Virginia, but the stench overwhelmed her.

 

" The smell was so bad that it was hard to drive home, " Hinkle testified.

 

Hinkle, 28, said she and Cook decided to drop the carcasses in a bin behind a

grocery store.

 

At least one veterinarian has said PETA offered assurances that animals turned

over to the group would be taken to a no-kill shelter. A PETA official, however,

testified earlier that she had made clear that some of the animals would have to

be put down.

 

Cook, 26, cried as he described one of the dogs the pair euthanized because it

was suffering from mange and sunburn.

 

Also Thursday, the judge said he would submit to the jury only eight misdemeanor

counts of animal cruelty, instead of the 21 felony counts listed on the original

indictment. The judge said he reduced the charges because the state failed to

prove malice, a necessary element of the felony charge.

 

Kathy Guillermo, a PETA spokeswoman, said the group was relieved by the judge's

decision. " These are two people who have dedicated their lives to helping

animals, " she said.

 

Closing arguments were scheduled for Friday.

 

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/02/america/NA-GEN-US-Animal-Rights-Arrest\

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PETA Workers Cleared of Animal Cruelty

February 3, 2007

By SAMUEL SPIES

Associated Press Writer

 

WINTON, N.C. (AP) - A jury cleared two animal rights workers of animal cruelty

charges Friday for euthanizing cats and dogs they took from shelters, but both

were convicted of littering for dumping the carcasses in a trash bin.

 

Adria Hinkle and Andrew Cook, two employees of People for the Ethical Treatment

of Animals, were cleared of eight misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. Hinkle

also was found not guilty on three felony counts of obtaining property by false

pretenses.

 

Both received a 10-day suspended jail sentence and a year of supervised

probation. Their van will be confiscated by police and each was ordered to pay

$4,000 in fines and restitution. They will also each have to serve 50 hours of

community service.

 

As she left the courtroom after the two-week trial, Hinkle said she was

relieved. " Justice was served, " she said.

 

" The important thing is the jury recognized they were never guilty of cruelty, "

PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said. " We're relieved, we're happy. "

 

" It's a disgrace, " said Andrea Press, a member of Responsible Dog Owners of

Eastern States. " PETA preaches to everybody not to hurt and kill animals. And

they just proved it's OK for them to do it. They're hypocrites. "

 

The animals were picked up from several shelters in northeast North Carolina.

The pair testified that they euthanized the animals in the back of their van to

relieve the animals' suffering.

 

They said they disposed of the bodies in a garbage bin rather than drive them

back to PETA offices in Virginia, because the stench from the carcasses was

overwhelming.

 

Hinkle, 28, of Norfolk, Va., and Cook, 26, of Virginia Beach were arrested in

June 2005 after police said they saw them dump several bags of dead animals into

a trash bin behind a grocery store. Police said they found more dead animals in

the pair's van.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,,-6390655,00.html