Sick Animals at Illinois State Fair

A state fair conjures up images of rides, cotton candy, games and all sorts of other happiness that everyone enjoys. At the Illinois State Fair there is a "Tractor Tram," "Skylift," concert stages, a horse show, and tons of other attractions. What else does your mind picture? A petting zoo perhaps? What would you do if you ran across two or more sick / neglected animals in that petting zoo?

This is what I found on August 11th 2008. Two goats with ribs showing and one of these two goats also had such a thin and unhealthy appearance that you could see its hip bones protruding and you could see it's very thin spine. Both of these animals had trouble standing up to walk. As I gazed into each of the animals' eyes, I could sense an animal screaming for help...begging for someone to notice. I stayed quiet amid protest from my family to stay quiet and to not "make any trouble".

What I saw broke my heart and angered me so badly that I had to write this article in order to gain attention for the plight of abused & neglected animals that are "employed" as "attractions" for the amusement of others. I am all for a good circus or a good petting zoo, but taking care of the animals needs to be a priority. One now wonders if the State Of Illinois checks into the vendors contracted to provide services! what is their reputation? Do they have animal abusers on their staff and have they ever had a true complaint regarding animal abuse or neglect upheld against them? What was the outcome of such a case? Have there been any repeat violations?

This said a lot to me about the attitude of the state toward animals. If animal abusers are on the staff of a petting zoo, this would raise concerns about if those staff members have violent crime convictions or a preponderence for violence toward people, especially children. This should raise the eyebrows of the Department Of Children And Family Services who has recently been alerted to convicted sex offenders driving ice cream trucks. If a person is willing to abuse or neglect to properly care for an animal, why wouldn't they be willing to abuse children? I digress.

In my mind, it is abusive to subject any child to the presence of an abused or neglected animal that has not even undergone treatment. To think I would not have spotted this atrocity without entering the petting zoo is a really shameful thing. I wanted to leave immediately upon spotting these two animals, but the crowd was a force to be reckoned with. Bad State! Again I say, Bad State! Turns out there is a history of animal abuse on these grounds.

Where was the common sense of the State Fair Manager? Someone had to have seen the condition these two animals were in prior to Fair opening because we all are under the impression that those authorities in charge patrol the fair vendors to see that no violations are present. What, with all the various state departments present to promote various aspects of public health and safety we were all given the idea that all was right on State Supported / owned land! The offender who caused these two animals to be so sick and neglected should hang his/her head in shame, and that includes whoever is in charge at the State Of Illinois Fair Grounds. Enter Colleen O'Keefe, Head of Animal Safety for the Department of Agriculture. We'll learn a bit more about her in the paragraphs below.

Suspicions now solidly confirmed with evidence in regards to some of the questions asked above, i went digging further. Goldmine! Yahtzi! Bingo! I was able to conduct an interview which gained the following information as outlined below.

Speaking with Steve Hindi, president of SHARK, the following information was uncovered:

Colleen O'Keefe is head of animal safety at the Department of Agriculture and John O'Keefe who is a Springfield Veterinarian is her brother. John O'Keefe served as the official vet for the High School Rodeo Finals of 2006 and 2007. He (John O'Keefe) guaranteed no prods were to be used but prods were used anyway. At other events filmed by SHARK Investigators, animals were stuck with a sharpened wire fashioned from a hangar, but there was denial on part of the Department Of Agriculture resulting in 6 months to conduct an investigation. Collusion between Dept of Agriculture and the Illinois States Attorney's Office seems to be present on these issues because one state's attorney could not figure out who should be charged in an incident due to all the hesitation and covering - up at the department of Agriculture. Steve states that their fight against animal cruelty goes 12 to 15 years back pertaining to pigeon shoots in which pigeons were held in a cardboard box and ejected under great stress only to be shot by participants with shotguns.

Steve states that this has always been illegal and that it took forever to get the Department of Agriculture to take action.

Colleen O'Keefe seems to not understand the simplicity of taking care of her own back yard. O'Keefe can make statements like this, but cannot manage to know enough about what is happening in Springfield, Illinois at the fairgrounds where animals continue to be subjected to inhumane conditions or conditions that are questionable at best. In an interview with Cherie Travis, a licensed Attorney and Law Professor at Depaul University, it was found that "The Cook County Sheriff's Department arrested a man who kept horses in bad conditions so horrendous that one had to be euthanized. She (Travis) says "I've done a recent FOIA request on Dept. Of Ag, and am still waiting on the request to be granted. Agriculture has been giving Gale Armon a pass who has been reported for operating an animal shelter without a license. So far Armon has not been prosecuted. We're just now working on a prosecution. Armon has been an animal hoarder since the 70's."

Says Travis, "the Department of Agriculture has actually testified for the defense and has hindered investigations & prosecutions per Jennifer Cifaldi who is a prosecutor in Adams County. There is something rotten at the Department of Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture sponsors these rodeos and states that they are capable of policing the events. The Department of Agriculture seems to never find violations. In 365 days they have only done 6 impounds. We have documented a ton of animals that are sick and Fox News has interviewed Dr. O'Keefe who was investigating Pet Rescue on what I believe to be her first and only visit to that facility. O'Keefe gave this reported problem shelter two days notice before showing up. She (O'Keefe) was quoted as being impressed."

This blog gives recent news of an arrest warrant that has been issued for Penny Horak who is the Director of Pet Rescue. In the video, Fox News interviews O'Keefe who says "There is simply not much I can do about it." O'Keefe's office has only eight investigators for hundreds of animal abuse complaints. With such an under-staffing of investigators, it is no wonder that innocent animals are dying from causes that are quite preventable and no wonder that even two sick goats were allowed to be publicly displayed when they should have been getting care.

O'Keefe in her capacity simply cannot perform her functions as sworn in the first place. How many more animals must die before they are in a humane home that wants them, and can give them the care they need? How many more State Fairs must pass before someone, even a member of the public finds an animal dead? How is a parent supposed to explain to their child that an animal at the fair died from abuse (Should it ever happen this way)? I encourage the public to call for an end to O'Keefe's career and a criminal investigation for the safety of the public and the animals.