Seneca Dog Breeder Kills Over 93 Dogs
Published September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15 was truly a "day that will live in infamy" -- not only for the dog lovers living in Seneca County in upstate New York, but also for people who care about the welfare of animals.
David Yoder -- a licensed dog breeder and owner of a commercial kennel called Black Diamond Acres in Romulus, New York -- confessed to his terrible crimes on Wednesday. He admitted to killing over 93 dogs between June 29 and July 15, using a homemade "gas chamber".
Yoder constructed this "killing machine" out of a wooden whelping box, which was attached to an exhaust pipe of a three-horsepower engine.
The confession followed a visit by a federal inspector and an order issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to have his dogs tested and treated for Brucellosis. The order was issued to the kennel since many of his dogs were reportedly infected with the nasty bacterial disease, requiring treatment with expensive antibiotics. The condition causes dogs to have significant difficulty in breeding successfully.
According to a USDA report, the "gas chamber" contraption pumped the lethal gas, mixed in an inadequate concentration, into the chamber through a hole that Yoder had fashioned in the side. He then placed five to six dogs at a time into the chamber to "de-populate" the number of dogs in his kennels. The stress level of the dogs was not monitored. The report cites, "The dogs were put into the whelping boxes and euthanized in view of the main kennel dogs."
Yoder told federal agents that the fumes made him so sick, so he was forced to leave the area while the dogs were dying. Before he buried the 78 dogs and 15 puppies, most of which were poodles and terriers, Yoder used a stethoscope to listen for heartbeats to be certain that all of them had died.
Since Yoder personally killed his dogs using his homemade "killing machine", he was out of compliance with the New York state law that reads, "No person shall euthanize a dog or cat by gas omitted from an engine exhaust." The law clearly cautions that if a person chooses to have his animals "euthanized", it must be done humanely by a licensed veterinarian.
Yoder has already surrendered his dog-breeding license, but as of now, no official charges have been made. As a result of the inspector's report, the USDA has opened a formal investigation, which may lead to fines being issued. Additionally the Seneca County Sherriff's office has opened a criminal investigation to examine if criminal charges should be filed, but none have been made at this time.
It appears to me -- judging by the fact that Yoder chose to personally murder his dogs rather than providing them with the recommended testing and treatment they needed -- that he is far more interested in saving money than the welfare of his breeding stock. Additionally what has my hackles up and my "sniffer" revved up, is the fact that even though he admittedly broke the New York law, why does the Seneca County sheriff appear to be walking on eggshells?
What do you think? Share your opinion by leaving a comment.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Shortly after retiring as a social worker and psychotherapist, I discovered my "writer's voice"…
News & Blogs
Leave a Comment
No account? Sign up here.
Your Privacy
Comments (74)
IF charges need to be made? IF?!?!
Oooooh boy. No charges need to be made. No sir. Just stuff his useless waste of a body into that box and let that engine rip.
What an excuse for a human.
This thing (david yoder)(not capitalized because he deserves no respect) needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for each & every dog that died.... a seperate sentence for each dog.
the sorry excuse for a human being needs a separate life sentence for each dog he killed!!! and at the end of each year, be gassed to near death,then be brought back to life only to be gassed again at the end of the next year!!! over and over again til the end of the last years sentence!!!!!!!!!
While it's true that most animal abusers go on to inflict harm on humans, I'm tired of folks using that as an excuse to prosecute them. Isn't it enough that the person/s in question tortured or killed an animal? Anyone who thinks it's OK to hurt a living being of any kind should be roundly punished, period. The fact that the inhumane person is justly punished before he/she harms a human may go further to hopefully prevent them from raising the stakes. Its way time animals are given more consideration.
See, read these comments people make trying to justify the way animals are treated. This society has more neanderthals than we realize. Animal abuse is the first stage of wife, and child abuse, serial murders, etc. Is a disfunction in the mental growth that leaves people thinking its ok to hurt and infilict pain. They make excuses to hurt animals then excuses to hurt their families. Its a disease. Religious or not its wrong. I dont think anything has to be put on a human level to say not to hurt it. A dog can be an animal and still deserves to be treated nice and not hurt. So dont hurt the dolphins either. They have more intelligence than a lot of people.
I beleve what you say is true. Its the mark of a sick society that also treats a lot of their elderly the same way. Put them off in isolation, starve them, make them struggle for medical care. Make it so complicated they dont how to work the system. A people are judged by the way they treat their unborn and young and their elderly. I would have to be the one to grade us. God bless our people and animals that are treated harshley and neglected.
This is another symptom of how sick our society is. We have been programmed to see animals as here to benefit people, that they're here for our amusement and convenience, and worst of all, as a source of food. We're taught from childhood that animals are expendable and, thanks to so-called spiritual leaders, that animals do not possess souls. The addiction to meat in American society is another reason things like this happen. While I don't pretend to have the right to tell anybody what they can and cannot eat, everybody admits that they know bad things happen at factory farms and meat processing plants. Which is usually followed by "I don't want to know," or "I don't want to see that." While my comments probably sound like a radical cry n favor of veganism, it isn't. Although the world would be healthier and cleaner if the human population decided there was no need to kill animals for any reason other than to be humane at life's end. It's all connected, and the solution is zero tolerance for behavior that exploits animals for profit, zero tolerance for anything remotely resembling animal cruelty, which is no different than child abuse. We know the connection between animal cruelty and abusive behavior toward other humans, particularly those most vulnerable. When we as a society can realize that if it's not right to do something that is harmful, cruel or negligent to an animal, it's highly probable that we cannot carry out any harmful, cruel, or negligent acts toward other humans. I would imagine this "breeder" will experience emotional trauma throughout his life for his little canine holocaust. Maybe rightly so. But again, his actions are a symptom of our sick society and of the ignorance and apathy of our political leaders. The first step to end this type of brutality is to outlaw puppy and kitten mills, and any other type of breeding facility that allows living, breathing mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish to become "products," rather than respected and understood.