PSPCA Removes 118 Animals from Centre County Farm, Files Criminal Charges

Pennsylvania SPCA Humane Law Enforcement officers on Tuesday executed a search warrant and seized 118 animals from a farm in Aaronsburg.

Thirty chickens, 22 sheep, 17 goats, 12 ducks, 11 geese, seven mini horses, four mini donkeys, three potbellied pigs, four turkeys, four peacocks, an Alpaca and more were found on the property, where they had been moved from the now defunct Heaven on Earth Farm animal sanctuary in Northampton County by owner Jahjah Melhem, according to the PSPCA.

PSPCA also filed 47 new criminal charges against Melhem resulting from inspections during the fall at the Northampton County sanctuary.

In August, Melhem pleaded no contest to eight counts of animal cruelty in Northampton County and agreed to limit his number of animals to fewer than 100. PSPCA, which was granted inspection rights, executed the search warrant on Tuesday in Aaronsburg because of ‘concern for the welfare of animals due to the large number in violation of an existing court order.’

According to lehighvalley.com, the animals were supposed to be taken to a farm in New York after the August plea agreement, but Melhem instead moved them to the Centre County farm.

In 2017, PSPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Department, acting on tips, executed a search warrant at Heaven on Earth and among 30 animals seized were two blind Alaskan malamute dogs covered in burrs, three goats that were unable to stand due to foot rot and many underweight animals, according to the PSPCA.

Additional animals were seized from the property throughout 2018. PSPCA said that after Melhem was evicted from the Northampton County property, he moved the animals to Centre County.

On Tuesday, Melhem was charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty and neglect, including two counts of felony animal cruelty in Northampton County. Lehighvalley.com reported that the felony charges are related to the deaths of a cat and a goat.

He was arraigned and released on $5,000 bail.

“After visiting the many properties of Melhem over the past year, the one constant has been the concerns for the welfare of the animals in his care,” said Nicole Wilson, the PSPCA’s Director of Humane Law Enforcement. “When we first executed a search warrant in Northampton in December of 2017, we knew that the battle to save these animals would be a long one. A year later, it is ongoing, but until every last animal is safe, our Humane Law Enforcement efforts will not cease.”

Melhem’s attorney, Don Souders, told lehighvalley.com that Melhem has about 200 animals in Centre County, and a court order and bail condition to limit his number of animals to fewer than 100 only applies in Northampton County.

Souders also told the Allentown Morning Call that Melhem has always provided appropriate care for his animals, which are ‘typically old and infirm.’

“Most, if not all, of the animals in Mr. Melhem’s care came to him as ‘last chance’ cases, destined to be euthanized and typically old and infirm,” Souders told the Morning Call. “He has always acted in a compassionate manner to extend their lives far beyond those who often dropped them off, unannounced and during the dark of night.”

An investigation of the Centre County farm is continuing.

PSPCA has a Facebook fundraiser for the care of the removed animals. To learn more,  visit  https://www.facebook.com/donate/764479757247559/