Woman charged with nine counts of animal cruelty after more animals found at Marion facility

MARION N.Y. (WHEC) — The owner of an exotic animal farm was charged with nine counts of animal cruelty after more animals were found at her Marion facility, announced Lollypop farm on Friday.

Sally Reaves was previously charged with animal cruelty after investigators said she failed to provide food and water for her nearly 800 at her facility, including rats, ferrets, and guinea pigs. A joint investigation from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture found the animals at the World of Wildlife Educational Encounters on March 14. They took the animals to Lollypop Farm for care.

More than a week after that charge, investigators from Lollypop Farm Humane Law Enforcement returned to Reaves animal farm. Investigators said they found potbellied pigs, dogs, cats, emus, and a lizard living in "unsanitary and inhumane conditions".

Reaves was charged after that investigation including on counts of overdriving, torturing, and injuring animals. Lollypop Farm said she could face up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine if convicted of each of the 10 misdemeanor charges.

"This kind of neglect and mistreatment of animals cannot be tolerated in our community,” said Reno Di Domenico, vice president of Humane Law Enforcement. “One of the potbellied pigs we brought back to Lollypop Farm was pregnant and so severely malnourished veterinarians rated her with a body score of 1 out of 5. Others were discovered sick, encrusted with fecal matter, and severely lacking in the most basic of needs like shelter, nutrition, and water.”

News10NBC’s Berkeley Brean spoke with Reaves on March 15 in response to the investigation into her facility. Reaves said the DEC took her exotic animals because of paperwork issues, not because she mistreated them. Reaves said that she has sold hundreds of rats.