Ex-manager of small animal farm admits to animal cruelty

GILBERTSVILLE >> The onetime manager of a small animal farm in Douglass (Mont.) Township has admitted to animal cruelty charges and faces hundreds of dollars in fines as punishment.

Clinton A. Holmes, 50, of Alburtis, Lehigh County, pleaded guilty last week before District Court Judge Maurice H. Saylor to two summary charges of animal cruelty in connection with incidents that occurred in 2016 while he was employed as a small animal manager at Holmes Farms Inc. Authorities alleged some small animals were not properly cared for at the farm.

As part of a plea agreement, Holmes must pay a total of $600 in fines and about $300 in court-related costs, for a total of about $900, according to the county district attorney’s office.

Summary offenses are similar to traffic citations.

Last August, Holmes originally was charged with 28 counts of animal cruelty. The remaining 26 counts were withdrawn as part of the plea arrangement reached last week, officials said.

At the time the charges were filed, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said not taking care of an animal’s basic needs, “like providing medical care, is taken seriously under the law.”

Authorities said an investigation by Detective Cpl. Robert Evans of Douglass (Mont.) Township Police Department found that 28 animals at Holmes Farms were not being properly cared for and were in need of veterinary care. The animals included seven gerbils, seven chinchillas, six hamsters, six Guinea pigs, one rabbit and one ferret.

In January 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture launched its own investigation into the treatment of animals at the pet supplier following the published results of an undercover investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals during which a PETA employee worked undercover for Holmes Farm Inc. over the course of a few months, according to PETA’s web site. PETA published a video of the investigation which depicted small animals allegedly living in substandard conditions.

“Nothing can make up for the suffering that Clinton “Art” Holmes caused these animals, but we hope the government will prevent him from abusing any more living beings in the future,” PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch wrote in a news release on its web site. “The pet trade is riddled with cruelty and neglect, which is why PETA urges people never to shop at any store that sells live animals.”