When Cyber Bullying Goes Criminal

It's winter.  Which means its cold out.  We are all cold.  But do you know who isn't?  Animals.   Animals in general are not cold.  Wildlife live their entire lives outside and never come indoors.  Ever.  No one is putting blankets on a deer and herding them into barns.  Many horses, cattle, and other livestock are used to living their entire lives outside.  This is normal.  This is natural.  There are many dog breeds, yes, dogs, who are also used to living their entire lives outside.  This is normal.  This is natural.  This is not animal cruelty.  Before you start screaming abuse when you see that livestock guardian dog out "abandoned" in a field, open your mind and learn about the world of dogs.  You just might find that you are wrong. That dog is supposed to be there, it is not abandoned and is doing just fine.  Mind your own business, in other words. 

Today multiple cases crossed my desk of criminal stalkers who have crossed the line from being clueless do-gooders who just don't know what they are actually doing, to belonging in handcuffs wearing a nice orange suit.  That can be a fine line but these rabid #RetailRescue and animal rights folks didn't just step over that line.  They gleefully jumped with both feet, spitting on the line as they did so.  They deserve jail time. 

Stalkers:  Cindy Schultz and Jordan Turner, Kenosha/Watertown, Wisconsin.

Cindy Schultz is stalking a horse owner named Lisa Edwards who has owned two horses for over 15 years.  Schultz has a pal in her operations, Maureen LaGuardia who also stalked Edwards.  These animal rights nuts have created such an uproar that a Deputy has been assigned to sit there on the property and protect two horses from animal rights extremists... and not from the animal owner who is doing nothing wrong. The Sheriff's Department has said the Deputy is there to protect the horses and their owner. The animal rights wingnuts in this case have stated that they believe the sole reason the Deputy is there is to prevent the activists from being able to take pictures of "egregious cruelty" that they claim is there.  As I said.  Wingnuts.   

Here is what Sheriff David Beth says these wingnuts are doing, "According to Beth, a deputy has been posted at the site to stop people from feeding the horses, saying some people have been throwing bread, cereal and even dog food to the horses."The Sheriff's Department is being bombarded with calls over a non-issue and is now forced to assign a deputy to guard these horses.  A non-issue being made into an issue by animal rights extremists over social media to their deluded followers.   In this case, the victim, Lisa Edwards, owns two horses that live at a boarding stable.  By default, horses stables are barns.  They are enclosures.  But you know what?  Horses also go outside.  A lot.  In this case, the horses went outside with horse blankets on.  Get that?  They had blankets!   This is common.  This is normal.   The horses are in no danger.  Instead, various stalkers have filed three dozen animal cruelty complaints against Lisa Edwards.  Three Dozen.  

"Several deputies have checked the property and the welfare of two horses being boarded at the horse stable. Each time, deputies found that the horses have protective blankets on them, proper food, a heated water trough, and shelter from the wind."

In fact a 60 gallon heated water trough.  That wasn't enough for these extremists who have kept up the pressure and kept filing baseless complaints.  Then the Sheriff's Department brought in a specially trained large animal veterinarian.  The vet confirmed that the horses are in excellent health.  You know who is paying all these costs?  Every taxpayer in Kenosha County is bearing the burden for all of this.  Yet even with that, animal rights extremists have been caught trespassing and force feeding the horses inappropriate food that could potentially kill them.   

A Wisconsin animal rights group called Global Conservation Group (GAP) who advocates against SeaWorld and Chick-fil-A is also involved and has started a petition against Edwards and sent one of their "investigators" to the location to observe horses owned by Lisa Edwards and then created a Press Release claiming that "animal neglect" is occurring in what they call a "vacant lot."  A criminal offense.  This group is claiming that Lisa Edwards is a criminal.  Here's a clue.  The "Global Conservation Group" is run by a young college student with his daddies backing who has no legal authority at all.  They are not law enforcement and they don't get to dictate their demands.  This group self-describes itself as Wisconsin's largest animal rights group is run by a notorious 19-year-old college student and vegan animal rights activist called Jordan Turner.  A man who brags on Twitter that he ate Tofu for Thanksgiving instead of Turkey.  A man who has stated that his goal is total animal liberation.  A man who stated goal in life is to become an animal rights lawyer so he can accomplish that animal liberation he so desires.  This group of animal extremists that he runs also encourages the public to contact them if they can't get their local law enforcement to go after animal owners so they can step up the pressure.  

I work for total animal liberation. Animals are not for us to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for our entertainment. Jordan Turner

To keep the frenzy going among the pitchfork carrying ignorant and clueless, the GAP group posted this on their Facebook page: 

The claim that the horses have "no shelter" is 100% a lie.  The horses are being boarded at a horse stable!   If you read their press release it states that the Sheriff said, "We hired a vet at our expense, the case is closed. If you want any more info call in the morning. It was unfounded and has been closed."  But that isn't good enough for this animal rights extremist group.  Instead they have accused the Kenosha County Sheriffs' Department of committing a "grave miscarriage of justice."  You know what?  I actually agree with the extremists.  I think the Sheriff's Department is committing an injustice.  You know why?  Because the Sheriff's Department has not yet arrested any of these loons for stalking, harassment, defamation, and attempting to kill a horse.   What is even scarier is that 2,400 people signed this fraudulent petition in just 24 hours.  What is even scarier is that while the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department is wrapped up in dealing with dozens of loons calling their phone lines, emailing and tweeting them, every day citizens could be at risk.  Every day citizens of Kenosha County could potentially encounter a delay in law enforcement responses to their needs because the cops are being bombarded by extremists whining about two horses.  What if you lived there and you called 911 for assistance and no one came because the department is dealing with a terrorist attack on two horses?  

Just 24 hours after creating massive histrionic internet campaign against their targeted victim, Turner issued the following statement:

"Just 24 hours after launching our campaign in an effort to provide adequate shelter for neglected horses, nearly 3,000 people signed our petition, called the Sheriff’s Department and shared our action alert. Your effort paid off! The two horses in Kenosha County, Wisconsin are now safe and secure in a barn. Thank you for being a voice for the voiceless."

Actually 2,400 signatures isn't "nearly 3,000" but animal rights activists always lie.  And guess what?  If the horses had a barn, they had a barn.  Period.  The horse owner didn't just build a barn in less than 24 hours.  They had a barn.  They have always had a barn, they are boarded at a horse stable.  These extremists didn't accomplish anything other than a massive campaign of horror against an innocent animal owner.  Turner went on to whine that he was going to be filling complaints with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Kenosha County District Attorney's Office.  All of these frivolous complaints take tax payer dollars to investigate and process.  He has also posted that they are filing an open records request to get the name of the veterinarians who have examined the horses, presumably so they can stalk them as well.  

Horses are pasture animals.   Depending upon the breed, many live outside.  Always.  Some have three sided walk ins, some don't.   Some horses simply hate barns and won't enter one.  Some grow enough winter hair (giving them a shaggy appearance) making them perfectly comfortable outside.  Others sometimes sport blankets to assist in the cold weather.  Amazing enough, the animal rights activists photos of these two horses outside in a pasture show them sporting horse blankets!  Yet this numbskull college brat is whining that they are freezing.  The point is, the horse owners are experts in their care and its up to the owner and breed experts to determine what they need on an individual basis.  Not some internet cyber stalker who thinks they know better.  

Turns out cohort Schultz doesn't even have her own house in order.  She has been investigated repeatedly over how she runs her private "animal shelter" that she's profiting from.  You can read the latest findings in May of 2013 after complaints were made yet again that she was running an unsafe and unhealthy shelter.  Here's another story from 2011 claiming the dogs were filthy and up to 20 were stuffed into each dog run.  Then there's this lawsuit from 2009 when Schultz was sued for failing to return a families dog. 

As for Vegan Extremist Turner who spends his time stalking animal owners, he has declared that he is going to run for Mayer of Watertown, Wisconsin in 2016. Heaven help local residents. 

Lisa Edwards is now in the process of trying to get restraining orders against Cindy Schultz and Maureen LaGuardia.  Schultz was right in one media story when she said this wasn't her first rodeo. Others have tried to file restraining orders against her on the past like this gentleman tried to do in 2009.  (Hint: Search for Nicholas Haas-Burkhardt vs. Cindy A. Schultz)

The additional stories of cyber stalking that crossed my desk this weekend can be viewed here and here.