Teens break into New Jersey zoo and let animals out, ride donkeys and put lipstick on a pony before fleeing
WYCKOFF, NEW JERSEY: The police are trying to track down a group of teenagers who allegedly broke into a New Jersey petting zoo after hours and mistreated some animals. The teenagers also released some of the animals and even put lipstick on a miniature pony. The Wyckoff Police Department said in a press release that Jimmy Abma, one of the owners of Abma's Farm in Wyckoff, had rushed to the zoo when he and his family heard some commotion outside.
Abma's Farm is located around 30 miles east of New York City. Jimmy began to yell at the trespassers upon reaching the venue. He said he had seen at least six alleged trespassers on the property. As he was trying to figure out what had happened, someone sent him a Snapchat picture of one of the girls riding a miniature donkey at the zoo, the authorities have revealed. The picture had been captioned, "Abma’s Farm, Wyckoff, N.J." The teen was seen sporting a black crop top and ripped jeans and had long platinum blonde hair. As reported by ABC News, the incident had taken place around 10 pm with Jimmy and his wife hurrying to the property.
Jimmy told WABC: "All the gates were open in the pens, a couple of the animals you couldn’t even get close to. They were all skittish, they were all jumping around. This our house. This is our yard. This is our livelihood. With something like this, it is almost like you just get sucker-punched in the side and you really have to go around say ‘is it really worth it? Do I really need to keep my zoo open for all these frustrations?" The Abma family took to Facebook on Sunday, August 23, to say, "our farm was broken into last night around 10 pm. Trespassers broke into our Barnyard Petting Zoo and disturbed our animals. They opened gates and rode our miniature donkeys, who should not be supporting that much weight".
"One person took a Snapchat of another person riding our mini donkey and applied the Abma's Farmgeofilter. After a concerned party alerted us to the Snapchat, we caught two other trespassers trying to steal-when we called the police, the two fled the scene," the post said. "We must explain the seriousness of this break-in. First and foremost, we are a working farm, and four families (and four generations) live here. This is our home. Second, from a human safety standpoint, breaking in to animal pens with no animal training is dangerous. Animals can kick, rear up, and trample you. In the dark, anything can happen." The post added: "Third, the safety of OUR animals has been compromised and that IS. NOT. OKAY. Our animals are now shaken and skiddish compared to their normal relaxed nature. This is very troubling to us. A couple of our animals got loose from gates left open but after thoroughly searching this morning, all animals are accounted for." The post also urged anyone with any information to step forward and contact the Wyckoff Police Department. There have been no arrests made so far.
Many social media users commented on the post in support of Abma's Farm and slammed the reckless teens. One such user shared, "Prayers continuing for the perpetrators to be found, charged, for justice to be served, and most importantly that the Abma families are safe, the missing animals found, and all the animals found to be uninjured. Peace and rest to all." "Love you and the farm! I am saddened by this and find it difficult to understand that this would even occur to someone as something to do. I hope they are identified and held responsible. My prayers are that you and the animals can find a sense of peace after this," wrote another. Yet another added, "This sad and disturbing. Please do take whatever time is needed for theses animals to feel safe again. Your farm has brought so much joy to my son and the animals have always been so relaxed and gentle! Thank you for all that you do!"
If anyone has any information, please contact the Wyckoff Detective Bureau at 201-891-2121 or detectives@wyckoffpolice.org.