Animal-rights advocates charged with felonies for allegedly trespassing at Kreider Farms to document inhumane conditions had an easy day in court Thursday.


District Judge William G. Reuter of Mount Joy presided over the hearing in which felony charges against Lisa Levinson, 38, of Philadelphia, were dropped and felony charges against Christopher Price, 25, of Philadelphia, were reduced to a summary trespassing offense.

Lt. Ed Haugh of Susquehanna Regional police told Reuter he was directed by Lancaster County First Assistant District Attorney Heidi Eakin to drop all charges against Levinson because she is only a spokesperson for the animal-rights group Hugs for Puppies, and she did not trespass on the farm in November 2004, when Price videotaped conditions inside three chicken houses.

Reuter called the handling of the charges "the most haphazard situation" he has seen in a long time.

Price pleaded guilty to the summary trespassing offense and was ordered to pay $582 in fines and court costs.

"It's a very interesting case, to say the least," Reuter said. "Interests on both sides need to be balanced and considered."

Paul Hetznecker, a Philadelphia attorney defending Levinson and Price, said Haugh showed measured discretion by withdrawing the felony charges because there was no evidence to support conspiracy.

For his part, Price said he might consider new tactics to fight for his cause. He referred to the current case of Esbenshade Farms in Mount Joy, where chief executive H. Glenn Esbenshade and farm manager Jay Musser each are charged with 35 counts of animal cruelty at the egg-production farm.

The videotape evidence in that case came from an animal-rights activist who allegedly filmed it while temporarily employed at the farm. The activist then gave it to an animal-abuse officer who said she filed charges based on the footage and her own investigation.

"This has been a learning experience," Price said. "As proven by the Esbenshade case, there are other ways to get the word out without breaking the law."

The footage Price allegedly shot at Kreider Farms and a profile of the business are posted on the Hugs for Puppies Web site at hugsforpuppies.org/Kreider.

The Philadelphia-based animal-rights group focuses on agribusiness, but Price said it's not against farming or selling animals for consumption. Instead, it lobbies for more humane conditions for animals that are sold for meat.

Levinson said recent changes in how animals are farmed in Europe are likely to make their way to the United States in time. One of those changes is using larger cages for birds. blog comments powered by Disqus