Suffolk County SPCA Investigating Alleged "Ritualistic Sacrifice" of Chicken at Middle Island Cemetery
The Suffolk County SPCA was alerted by a man walking his dog on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, near the entrance of the Union Cemetery where he discovered a bag containing a beheaded chicken and chunks of coconut.
Suffolk SPCA Detectives responded to the location and upon investigation also found a variety of fruits, vegetables and candles and skeletal remains of a goat head, These finding are indicative of animal sacrifice which involves the killing and offering of an animal as part of a religious ritual.
Additionally, Suffolk County SPCA was also contacted on October 17, 2023 to respond to the scene of another grisly find. The remains of a beheaded chicken, a black rooster and a white dove were placed in a circular pattern in the Union Cemetery located at Rt. 25, Middle Country Road, Middle Island, in what the Suffolk SPCA Detectives described as a "ritualistic sacrifice."
Roy Gross, Chief of the Suffolk County SPCA, stated that in a prior incident two (2) decapitated chickens were found in front of a headstone at Old Baptist Cemetery in Coram. This incident was called in by the Suffolk County Police in August, 2023.
The Suffolk County SPCA is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for these barbaric act of animal cruelty for unjustifiably harming, mutilating or killing an animal.
All too many times these gruesome finds are discovered not only by adults but occasionally by children. These acts of violence must stop now!
Chief Gross said that animal cruelty will not be tolerated in Suffolk County. If you witness any incident of animal cruelty or neglect in Suffolk County please contact the Suffolk County SPCA at (631) 382-7722.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.