Puppy mill case demands justice

The Hawaiian Humane Society is understandably angry that prosecution of animal cruelty at the state’s largest puppy mill is being confined to a company that no longer exists. Criminal prosecution should have included the people involved in the cruelty and prosecutors need to find a way to bring justice to the human beings criminally responsible in the case.

The public was rightly horrified in February when the Hawaiian Humane Society and Honolulu police seized 153 dogs at the Bradley International Inc. facility in Waimanalo. Since then, Bradley International has dissolved and been emptied of all assets. Defense attorney Jason Burks entered a no-contest plea on the company’s behalf last week and explained how it cannot be ordered to pay the maximum penalty of $2,000 for each of the 153 counts of cruelty.

Criminal cases are limited to probation, fines and restitution, Burks glibly pointed out, and in this case there are no assets from which to pay the penalty. "The dogs were the last remaining assets of the corporation," he told the Star-Advertiser’s Dan Nakaso, "There are no assets."

State records showed that Shannon Luke was chief executive officer and director of the company, the secretary was David Lee Becker and the vice president and treasurer was Vernon Luke. Becker was the only person charged with animal cruelty for his management of the puppies but he had departed Hawaii before he could be served with the charge in March, according to Hawaiian Humane Society spokeswoman Jacqueline LeBlanc.

Shannon Luke told Hawaii News Now in September that he hadn’t had "anything to do with the dogs in two and a half years." It would take a criminal investigation to determine who, besides Becker, was actually involved in the animal cruelty at Bradley.

Early in the case, prosecutors chose to limit prosecution to Becker and the company, despite protests by the Hawaiian Humane Society, according to LeBlanc. None of the former Bradley officers appeared in court at the no-contest plea.

Pamela Burns, the society’s president and CEO, is justifiably livid, as the society paid more than $450,000 in staff and other costs to care for all the dogs, including 79 puppies that were born after the seizure; three dogs died.

"The corporation made thousands and thousands — tens of thousands — of dollars on these puppies that were sold," Burns said. "If they’re saying that the corporation is dissolved, they went through hundreds of thousands of dollars in money to do that. I really don’t buy it."

Such a shocking case of animal cruelty was handled inadequately by the limited investigation, prosecution or both. The city prosecutor should examine ways to find justice in this case while the legal time frame provides such an opportunity.