Dancing Star articles

Employees at a Central Coast animal sanctuary say the nonprofit is killing healthy animals to cut costs.

The Dancing Star Foundation operates sanctuaries in Paso Robles and Cayucos. The Cayucos facility cares for rescued horses, cows and other animals. However, employees say those animals are being euthanized at an alarming rate.

"If I wanted to do this, I would have gone to work at a slaughterhouse or a cattle ranch," said former sanctuary employee Sheldon Rowley as he recalls seeing four euthanizations in 40 minutes.

One of them was Grace, an 8-year-old horse ironically treated, and eventually put down, for a leg deformity.

"I felt like I was involved in a death camp," Smith said. "I was told if there were any animals on medication or needed to be in a stall, they were to be euthanized."

Rowley and Smith walked us through what happened to Apache, a horse living at the sanctuary because of his lame leg. He was the first of four put down that day. Rowley says he and other employees fought back tears as the horse struggled before succumbing to the lethal injection.

"This is a healthy animal getting put down at a sanctuary," Rowley said, "This isn't supposed to happen."

Roger Gillott, a spokesman for the organization, assured Action News it is unwavering in its commitment to compassion and conservation. He added, "It is simply untrue. The allegations are from disgruntled current or former employees and do not accurately reflect the foundation's policies or practices."

Smith and Rowley were laid off, but insist they are not disgruntled - just concerned for the animals they left behind.

Current employees who wish to remain anonymous say 10 animals were scheduled to be put down next week. Those euthanizations have been canceled.

The foundation did confirm that economic troubles have forced significant reductions in operating expenditures. That includes reductions in staff and salaries.

Former employees of an animal sanctuary in Harmony are alleging animal abuse at the facility.

The laid-off workers say that horses, burros and cattle are being euthanized weekly at the Dancing Star Foundation sanctuary in order to cut operating costs. They say that the sanctuary is for elderly and infirm animals to live out the rest of their days, but that these animals are being put down prematurely.

Action News spoke with two of the former workers, who were laid off in the last week due to "horrific financial conditions" at the sanctuary, according to a letter given to them when they were laid off. They said the premature euthanizations picked up in January, when the foundation asked them to begin getting rid of 25 cows, horses and other animals a month.

The Dancing Star Foundation is based out of Los Angeles. To be balanced, Action News is attempting to reach the foundation for comment.

Check back here as this story develops throughout the afternoon, and read Danielle Lerner's full report posted on KSBY.com before 7:00 p.m. tonight, or watch it on Action News at 5, 6, and 11.

Dancing Star Sanctuary: Have the Rescuers Become Unnecessary Killers?

This weekend, a reader sent me a link to a terribly upsetting story: "Sanctuary becomes killing field for 'protected' animals." There's so much there that because of time constraints today, I can't begin to summarize it adequately. I will share extracts here because I know not everyone will follow the link to the article itself, but I do recommend that you read the whole in-depth article for all the details.

What is particularly horrifying (and ironic) about this case is that the Dancing Star Foundation operators, according to current and former employees, are ordering that essentially all animals with any maladies at this California sanctuary be killed, even though the original operator founded it as a sanctuary for "elderly and handicapped farm animals" (she entrusted the foundation and her substantial funds--as much as $40-some million--to the current operators when she was dying of cancer). Even one of the foundation's tax forms notes, "The foundation provides aged, disabled, infirm, or unwanted animals with food, shelter, and veterinary care."

But in another news story, former employee Jennifer Smith is quoted thus: "'I felt like I was involved in a death camp,' Smith said. 'I was told if there were any animals on medication or needed to be in a stall, they were to be euthanized.'" And another station quotes her saying this: "'I was told on the day before I was putting down the five that I was to come up with 15 more,' said former employee Jennifer Smith. 'I was to come up with a list of 15 animals to euthanize.'" (Several employees have spoken out, by the way; she's not the only one.)

And although the operators have claimed financial woes are among the reasons for the killing, this is all happening while the president, vice-president, and vice-president of finance ordering the deaths are taking salaries from the sanctuary of $285,500, $244,000, and $240,000, respectively; spending gobs of money on new buildings; and sitting on tens of millions in assets. I'm open to considering that this all isn't as bad as it sounds if proof of that comes through, but so far, the testimony and evidence seem pretty damning. At the end of these extracts I'm posting a related video; I'll introduce that when we get there. Continue reading after the jump.

A husband and wife team of internationally known environmentalists, paid handsomely to oversee a San Luis Obispo County sanctuary for infirm animals, has ordered the accelerating slaughter of many of their wards.

Former and present employees of the Dancing Star Foundation claim that its top officers, Michael Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison, intend to focus on endangered animals. They say the pair has commenced the systematic elimination of aged and infirm farm animals under the foundation’s care, contrary to the foundation's purpose.

Tobias and Morrison have reportedly told employees that economic issues prompted the kill policy . . . [but] the foundation’s 2007 IRS Form 990 filed Oct. 6, 2008, [showed] the group had more than $43 million in assets. Tobias, as president, receives a yearly salary of $285,500; Vice President Morrison, $244,000; and Vice President of Finance Don Cannon, $240,000.

The foundation was created by Sue Stiles in 1993 with a focus on providing a refuge for elderly and handicapped farm animals. She opened one sanctuary in Paso Robles for burros, and another in Cayucos which hosts horses, cows, dogs, burros, pigs, and a goat. In January, more than 200 animals were cared for at the Cayucos sanctuary, situated south of Harmony on 700 rolling acres along U.S. Highway 1. A herd of burros wandering among the oak trees is often visible from the highway below.

“Stiles took care of animals in dire need,” said Kathy Duncan, a Morro Bay resident who took her 27-year-old horse to live out its days at Dancing Star. “Sue knew all the animals by name. She asked me to visit when I could, bring carrots, and pet the animals.”

Dying of cancer, Stiles choose Tobias to preside over her non-profit foundation. Tobias is a world traveler and author of 35 books and numerous documentaries focusing on environmental history and animal rights. In 1996, Tobias received the “Courage of Conscience Award” for his commitment to animals. His wife and vice president of the foundation, Morrison, is an ecologist and filmmaker. . . .

“Tobias is stating that the foundation does not have the funds to support these animals that Sue had taken under her wing,” an employee said. “He and his wife have ordered the mass killing of horses, burros, and cows. Originally, it was 20 animals. Then it was five cows and five horses or burros every week until we reached 50 animals. We are nearing that number. Now, there is a new list. We feel this will continue. We also feel their intentions are to close the sanctuary.”. . .

Both Evans and numerous employees noted that while foundation officials are firing staff and eliminating animals, they are spending funds on the construction of new barns and upgrading existing facilities.

“They built a new barn for $120,000 then killed the animals in the barn below,” Rowley added. “They are building shelters with no limits. However, they are putting down the animals with health problems and the older ones. You can see were the money is going.”

Carmel was a wild horse and as such required the use of a squeeze (a cage that tightens around an animal’s body) to put her down. Carmel fought and fell in the squeeze, her legs caught in the bars. Her eyes were wide and wild with fear. The vet tried to inject enough drugs to drop the winter-coated mare, but Carmel continued to fight and only part of the killing drugs could be administrated on the first try. During Carmel’s long and painful death, employees stood by weeping.

An 8-year-old paint, Grace, was on and off lame due to a leg deformity. The spirited mare ran back and forth while her barn mates were slaughtered, unaware of the fate she faced. She loved to play and appeared not to be in pain.

Grace didn’t fight as her caregivers stroked her neck to distract her from the prick of the veterinarian’s deadly needle. She fell to the ground amidst the tears of Dancing Star employees.

Both Grace and Amigo, a gelding his caregivers said “was full of life and not ready to go yet,” received a shot of poison through a vein in their necks during the last round of animal eliminations.

“I think they are trying to close the sanctuary,” an employee said. “They are killing healthy animals. It is a sanctuary; all the animals have some problem. We signed on for an animal sanctuary, not a cowboy slaughter ranch. We love the animals; they don’t care.”

When the soft-spoken Tobias took over after Stiles’ death, he promptly banned volunteers and fired all employees hired by the sanctuary’s founder, an employee added. New employees sign an agreement they won’t tell anyone anything about the sanctuary, including that they work there.

As long as what I just included is, there's far more in the original article. Below is a video someone at the sanctuary filmed the day the horses mentioned in the article were killed. It's difficult to watch. You can hear the person filming crying periodically, and chances are you'll find yourself sobbing at some point too. It is heartbreaking. And it is infuriating. Many animals beyond these four have been killed by the sanctuary, and many others have been scheduled for death. It's not over yet.

To see the video on You Tube, click here Day at Dancing Star WARNING - this video is very graphic

A current employee of the Dancing Star Foundation agrees with former workers that the North Coast animal sanctuary has recently euthanized aging animals under its care to cut costs.

In a phone interview Sunday night, Jason Hamaker, a maintenance supervisor at the sanctuary, said the former employees are telling the truth and that the nonprofit group’s managers are requiring veterinarians to put down healthy animals whose only serious problems are their advancing ages.

A representative of a national nonprofit organization, Farm Sanctuary of upstate New York, visited the site recently to learn what was happening in light of a growing controversy over Dancing Star’s operation. Dancing Star employees told the Farm Sanctuary representative that 14 animals had been put down in recent weeks, according to an internal memo from the Farm Sanctuary. Whether those animals needed to be put down is the crux of the matter.

Protesters gather Tuesday along Highway 1 outside the Dancing Star Foundation near Harmony, condemning recent reports of unnecessary euthanasia at the animal sanctuary. Tribune photo by Jayson Mellom

Action needed

Jane Morrison — Dancing Star vice president and wife of foundation President Michael Tobias — said last week that there has been no arbitrary killing of horses, cattle or burros. Rather, she said some animals have gotten so old that their “time has really come.”

Neither Tobias nor Morrison could be reached Tuesday for comment. Roger Gillott, a foundation spokesman hired to deal with the upheaval, said Tuesday that the allegations about financially driven euthanasias are “absolutely untrue. … In some cases, the animals should have been put to rest earlier.” He said the animals’ medical conditions were severe and that decisions to put the creatures down were “based solely on the animals’ quality of life.”

Tristan Weltner is one of at least three veterinarians involved in the euthanasia. She acknowledged Tuesday she had euthanized animals at Dancing Star at the request of the foundation. But she backed the foundation’s view that such killing was necessary.

“I can only speak for the health and welfare of the animals; I don’t know anything about Dancing Star’s motives or finances or anything,” she said. “I can tell you the animals had exceptional care, but each and every one of them was debilitated and had medical problems, and there was no viable medical treatment to ensure their future quality of life.”

Weltner said the euthanasia procedures were humanely carried out.

She declined to say how many animals she euthanized or whether the number of animals that she put down was unusual, saying it was privileged information between a doctor and client.

Employee speaks out

Hamaker said he’s worked at Dancing Star for nearly five years. As a maintenance supervisor, he has been involved in most facets of the sanctuary’s operations. He said he was told by sanctuary managers in a meeting a month ago “to clean house, get rid of all the old animals, the ones being fed mush” because the foundation’s grain bill was too high.

Hamaker said “most of the animals that were put down were brought in with the same symptoms” that became the rationale for euthanizing them. “I can’t deal with this any more,” the clearly upset Hamaker said. “I’ll probably lose my job if you print this, but at this point, it just doesn’t matter. I haven’t slept in three weeks. … They need to atone for the deaths that have happened. They were put in charge to protect these animals and they’re not doing it. … They plan on kicking them all out of the barn and letting them survive on their own.” The aged animals “will either break their legs or starve because they’re not getting any more mush.”

Gillott, however, said that the organization was committed to humane treatment of the animals. While workers know and love the animals they care for, managers don’t know one from another, Hamaker said. Tobias, noted for authoring environmental books and producing environmental documentaries, “would come out here and say, ‘That’s Smiley the burro,’” Hamaker said. “There is no burro named Smiley.”

He said former employee Jennifer Smith was “brought into a meeting and told that 25 cows and 25 horses would have to be put down. Then the number changed to 30. We were told it was for financial reasons, that the economy is bad, but we weren’t allowed to tell anyone else that.” Smith confirmed the claim.

Gillott rejected that contention. He said decisions based on finances were kept separate from decisions about putting down any animals. Gillott did not address the costs involved in caring for the animals, but did say the economic downturn “has forced the foundation to make significant reductions in operating expenditures, including reductions in work force and salaries.”

For instance, he said Morrison and Tobias “have voluntarily cut their salaries twice.” When pressed, he said that their current salaries are less than half what they were before the current economic crisis hit. In Dancing Star’s 2007 submissions to the Internal Revenue Service, it reported having more than $43 million in assets.

Protests held

Activists across the country and friends of the sanctuary’s late founder, Sue Stiles, are speaking out against the alleged euthanasia.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, more than 500 people had signed a petition at www.thepetitionsite.com/1/animal-sanctuary-becomes-killing-field to protest what has reportedly been happening at Dancing Star.

About 15 people showed up at the sanctuary’s gates south of Harmony on Tuesday afternoon to protest. About a third of them were former or current employees.

Various agencies and groups have been investigating the situation. Farm Sanctuary, based in Watkins Glen, N.Y., responded to “many inquiries” about the Dancing Star situation by sending a representative to the ranch.

Following the investigation, Farm Sanctuary communications director Tricia Barry sent an e-mail to employees and those who have inquired.

Barry said that Tobias confirmed that “some animals have been killed and more were slated for killing.” The Farm Sanctuary representative also “found the remaining animals well cared for with a dedicated staff and excellent facilities.”

Farm Sanctuary, which promotes a vegan diet and opposes animal agriculture, “emphatically condemns the killing of any animal whose quality of life remains at a reasonable level. It has been reported that animals are being killed for the wrong reasons at Dancing Star, and that confounds us, given the organization’s mission” of providing a safe haven where aging animals can live out their natural life spans, Barry explained.

Preliminary investigation by the Sheriff’s Department shows that no laws have been broken, department spokes-man Rob Bryn said. He said the sheriff’s rural crime unit and Animal Services chief Eric Anderson “have reviewed what is happening there. … The animals are being cared for by licensed veterinarians who follow various treatment protocols … that may or may not involve the euthanasia of the animals.”

The foundation

Much of Dancing Star Foundation’s focus is on two sanctuaries for domestic and wild animals on approximately 1,000 acres in the county. It exists to save animals and protect them, pursue sound conservation strategies required to restore healthy populations of rare and endangered species, and safeguard precious habitat for all creatures, according to its mission statement on its Web site.

The Harmony ranch is on an estimated 750 acres; the other property is on about 250 acres of rural, rolling hills in the Adelaida area near Paso Robles.

That tract, valued at about $1.84 million by county tax assessor records, is home to about 70 donkeys. County animal protection services attempted to check on the donkeys Tuesday, but was unable to get through the locked gates, said Anderson, manager of Animal Services for the county. It will return within the week to confirm the animals’ well-being after making an appointment with the property owner, he said.

Tribune staff writer Melanie Cleveland contributed to this report.

Animal sanctuaries criticized over surge in euthanizations
Some former employees say the Dancing Star Foundation is ordering older animals euthanized to cut costs, even as its executives receive hefty salaries. The nonprofit denies any improper activity.
By Steve Chawkins, LA Times
February 26, 2009

For years, two Central Coast animal sanctuaries run by the Dancing Star Foundation had reputations as good places for old and ill animals. Care was unstinting, the facilities well-kept and the budget ample.

But over the last few months, economic declines have forced layoffs at the sanctuaries near Paso Robles and Cayucos in San Luis Obispo County. Even worse, some former workers said, Dancing Star began to euthanize cows, horses and burros whose care was deemed too expensive.
The foundation denies the claim, saying that only animals with severe, intractable medical conditions have been put to death.

"Economics were never a factor," said Roger Gillott, the foundation's spokesman. The allegations "are offensive to us because they are completely contrary to our most deeply held beliefs, and are belied by the facts."

The controversy, playing out in area newspapers and online, has raised alarms among animal activists across the country. Farm Sanctuary, an organization based in Watkins Glen, N.Y., aimed at ending cruelty to farm animals, said that Dancing Star had agreed Wednesday to review its practices and signed off on a euthanasia moratorium. Dancing Star said no more killings had been planned anyway -- an assertion that former employees dispute.

Jason Hamaker, a ranch maintenance supervisor, said his bosses started talking last fall about cutting back on medications and feed for some of the older animals. The sicker the animals became, the more justified their deaths by lethal injection would appear, he said.

"They said they wanted a total of 50 gone within a couple of months, and then another 30 after that," he said. In the last four weeks, according to Hamaker, 23 animals have been put down.

In a rough winter month in the past, there might have been three euthanizations, he said.

Hamaker, a five-year employee, said he was fired Wednesday.

Sheldon Rowley, who was laid off three weeks ago, said Dancing Star was "an incredibly run sanctuary" until last month. "They said if we didn't thin out the herd, animals wouldn't get the care they needed," he said. "First we were told it was financial, and then we were told it was a quality-of-life issue."

Gillott declined to discuss numbers, but said more animals than usual had recently been euthanized because so many were aging and infirm when they arrived years ago.

"We believe the humane thing to do with animals in extreme pain is to put them to rest," he said. "In recent weeks, we've asked whether we've been lax in the past -- not as aggressive as we should have been -- from an overabundance of love for the animals."

The accusations came to light last week on CalCoastNews.com.

The report, which also revealed the hefty salaries given to Dancing Star executives, stirred anger in the animal welfare community. In 2006, Michael Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison, a husband-and-wife team who have collaborated on numerous films and books, received $275,000 and $235,000, as president and vice president. Chief Finance Officer Don Cannon drew $219,450.

"Those salaries are just way out of line," said Kim Sturla, founder and director of Animal Place, a sanctuary for farm animals in Vacaville, Calif. "It's shameful -- it just reflects badly on all of us animal nonprofits." Sturla said those three salaries exceed her sanctuary's entire annual operating budget.

Gillott said those salaries have been cut twice since the latest nonprofit tax filing in 2007.

With about 320 animals on more than 1,000 acres, the sanctuaries were started in 1993 by Sue Stiles, an heir to the McClatchy newspaper fortune. Tobias became president of the foundation, which also funds cancer research at UCLA, when Stiles died in 1999.

The complaints from sanctuary employees have prompted an inquiry from local animal welfare officials.

Eric Anderson, head of San Luis Obispo County Animal Services, said his department concluded that the euthanized animals were "either beyond treatment or had conditions for which euthanasia would be at least one of the considerations that could responsibly be made."

Russ Mead, an attorney for Farm Sanctuary, visited Dancing Star for two days last week, investigating conditions at both sanctuaries. "It's the best-funded place in the country for animals and the staff appears to be caring," he said.

However, he said he was unable to determine whether the euthanized animals -- he knew of 14 in the last two weeks -- had been properly selected. "There was only so much I could do because they were dead," he said, adding that a decision to put down several additional animals apparently was reversed during his visit.

Euthanasia is occasionally practiced at sanctuaries, often after prolonged consultations among staff members and veterinarians.

Tristen Weltner, one of two veterinarians who administered the lethal injections, said they were given only to "the more debilitated and poorer quality-of-life animals." In its defense, the foundation released descriptions of seven horses that had been identified in news reports. They were as old as 27, according to the foundation, and suffered from partial blindness, crippling arthritis, limb deformities and other "severe" conditions.

But Hamaker and other former workers were skeptical.

"The cows had some lameness, but we never put a cow down before for being lame," Hamaker said.

steve.chawkins@latimes.com

Dancing Star Sanctuary: Have the Rescuers Become Unnecessary Killers?

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009

Dancing Star sanctuary worker says healthy animals were killed

Dancing Star Foundation denies supervisor’s claims that it used euthanasia to control costs

UPDATE: Dancing Star whistleblower shown the gate

Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 2:02 pm by Cal Coast News
By KAREN VELIE Dancing Star Foundation has fired a fulltime employee considered a whistleblower by supporters because of his actions in bringing to light the killing of healthy animals at the Cayucos animal sanctuary. Earlier today, sanctuary foreman Jerry Smith ordered maintenance supervisor Jason Hamaker to vacate the ranch home he occupies within 24 hours, and fired the outspoken employee. “[Smith] blocked the gate so I couldn’t leave… parked his truck in front of the gate,” Hamaker said of the contentious confrontation. “I am represented by [San Luis Obispo attorney] Jeff Stulburg. He said they can’t kick me out with just 24 hours notice.” Whistleblowers are protected under the California False Claims Act. According to Section 12653, “an employer may not discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, deny promotion to, or in any other manner discriminate against, an employee in the terms and conditions of employment because he or she has disclosed information to the government.” Hamaker went public after witnessing dozens of the animals he was hired to care for meet the veterinarian’s needle. He has questioned whether the non-profit foundation’s officials are following the wishes of Sue Stiles, benefactress and founder of the foundation. Stiles endowed the foundation with more than $60 million before she died in 2002. “These people think they are above the law,” Hamaker added. “They tell new employees they have $40 million and there is nothing you can do about it. You fall in love with the animals, and you stay.”