AR-News: Arkansas - article on Baird - mentions pet theft

[Jane Byrne]

 www.villageronline.com


Federal agents raid Williford dog kennel

 http://www.villageronline.com/news/news1.html

DAVID COX
Managing Editor

A team of 27 federal agents raided the Williford residence of C.C. Baird and his dog farm, Martin Creek Kennel, Aug. 26.

Agents remained on the premises for the remainder of the week investigating allegations of animal abuse. Approximately 100 dogs were seized Aug. 29, but the U.S. Attorney's office would not say whether charges had yet been filed.

U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins said agents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General and U.S. Postal Service executed the search warrant shortly after 6 a.m. Aug. 26. Officers with the Arkansas State Police and Sharp County Sheriff's Office assisted in the raid.

"There are allegations of violations of the Animal Welfare Act and other federal statutes," Cummins said. He would not say what charges were likely to be filed or when.

Baird denied he had broken any laws. "I've been in business a long time and I've done absolutely nothing wrong," he said.

Agents turned the house back over to Baird the same day, but the kennel remained sealed as the investigation continued. Cummins said a location in Little Rock has been secured to take any animals seized from the kennel.

Baird, a licensed class B dog dealer, had approximately 700 dogs at the farm the day of the raid, according to Cpl. Phillip Pickett of the Arkansas State Police, who assisted in the raid.

According to the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington, D.C., Baird is one of the largest of the 27 random-source animal dealers in the United States. Baird sells approximately 3,500 dogs a year to more than 50 laboratories in the country and abroad, according to the institute. His clients include the University of Arkansas, University of Arkansas Medical Center, University of Missouri, University of Mississippi, Colorado State University and the University of Wisconsin, the institute said.

Baird was convicted of violating the Animal Welfare Act in 1997 and fined $5,000, according to the institute. In that case, Judge James Hunt ruled that Baird's "failure to verify the information given to him by his suppliers - by looking at the person's driver's license - amounted to failure to maintain his records fully and correctly," according to the institute.

The institute, in its investigative report entitled The Animal Dealers: Evidence of Abuse of Animals in the Commercial Trade, 1952-1997, said: "USDA inspectors have documented deficiencies in record keeping, sanitation, veterinary care and housing during the routine inspections of Baird's facility." Those deficiencies included keeping too many animals in small pens, providing no shade or too little shade for animals and keeping animals that were lame or suffered illnesses that needed veterinary care.

The institute also reported: "In March of 1994, Baird transported 56 dogs and 6 cats to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. When the truck reached the Center, 42 of the dogs were dead. The cause of the death remains a mystery, and USDA never filed any charges against Baird."

The USDA posted the following notice on its Web site Aug. 29: "Several medium to large breed dogs (young adults and adults) were seized this week from a kennel in northeast Arkansas. Most of the dogs were either hounds, beagles or lab mixes. If you recently lost a dog that meets the above description and believe it may have been at this kennel, please submit the following information: Your name, address, phone number and a description of the dog, including breed, age, sex, weight, its name and distinguishing marks or other characteristics. Also, please supply the date your dog disappeared and a recent photo (an electronic format is acceptable and can be e-mailed).

"This information can be faxed to 970-472-9558, submitted via e-mail at ACWEST at aphis.usda.gov or sent by regular mail to: USDA/APHIS/Animal Care, Arkansas Dogs, 2150 Center Ave., Building B, Mailstop 3W11, Ft. Collins, CO 80526."

A spokesman for the USDA refused to confirm that the kennel from which the dogs were seized was the Martin Creek Kennel. But Sharp County Sheriff Dale Weaver said he didn't know of any other large kennel in northeast Arkansas.

The Los Angeles-based animal rights group Last Chance for Animals took credit for initiating the raid in a press release Aug. 29. "The federal search warrant made history as the first time an animal rights case has reached the U.S. attorney's office. LCA's investigation showed that the 57-year-old Baird, a minister of the Bettistown Church of Christ in Hardy, Arkansas, and father of two children, is responsible for developing and running the nation's largest pet theft ring in the history of the U.S."
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