Animal sacrifices on the rise in Queens: ‘It’s open season’

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Animal sacrifices are surging in Queens, with chickens, pigs and rats being tortured, mutilated or killed in “twisted” religious rituals in parkland surrounding Jamaica Bay, The Post has learned.

In a little over a month, at least nine wounded animals or carcasses have been discovered in the federally-managed Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach and the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel — including five live pigs with partially severed ears.

Creatures recovered from the revolting scene also include a near-dead baby rat tied up in a bag with chicken bones; a freshly-decapitated chicken head; a live hen in distress; and a dead dog with its neck snapped.

In a little over a month, at least nine animals or carcasses have been discovered in the federally-managed Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel. Courtesy of Scott Ruscillo

“It’s continually getting worse. The animal sacrifices are happening more repeatedly, more times a week,” Sloane Quealy, co-founder and president of Zion’s Mission Animal Rescue, told The Post.

“The sacrificers know it’s open season.”

One of the distressed pigs was found emaciated in a food-filled crate in July, with a deep gash running down its face and its body covered in oils and spices, said Kristen Latuga, who has taken in all five of the ailing swine at her Long Island animal sanctuary, Brucie’s Angels.

Several rescuers and a local religious leader suggested the torture was linked to a sect of Hindu devotees who worship the goddess Kali and have practiced animal sacrifice in the area surrounding Jamaica Bay for decades.

“It’s a misconstruing of what the scriptures say about conquering the animalistic values,” said Acharya Arun Gossai, who runs the Bhuvaneshwar Mandir temple in Ozone Park.

“They’ve twisted it and they’ve sacrificed an actual animal rather than sacrificing the animalistic qualities of man.”

Jamaica Bay has been a popular religious site among members of the Hindu Guyanese and Indo-Caribbean diaspora living in nearby neighborhoods, including Richmond Hill and Ozone Park.

Animal rescuer Kim Fraser with a trio of pigs. J.C. Rice

Along the waterway, which has been nicknamed the “Ganges” by some, after the sacred body of water in India, people regularly gather to give offerings, typically flowers and fruits, and leave statues of deities as well as prayer flags.

This week, The Post observed Quealy and another animal rescuer, Kim Fraser, track down a trio of piglets that had their ears and tails cut off — roughly 100 feet away from a pair of statuettes of Hindu deities resting atop a mound of turf alongside a trio of flags.

Prayer flags were spotted nearby bundled up in the brush.

Followers of other religions whose rituals involve animal sacrifice, such as Santeria and voodoo, also have been known to use beaches and parks surrounding Jamaica Bay to carry out bloody rites.

A possible animal sacrifice location in the Howard Beach area. J.C. Rice

“It’s not a cut and dry situation. There are many other faith denominations that do practice animal sacrifice,” said Aminta Kilawan-Narine, a Howard Beach resident and co-founder of Hindu group Sadhana, which organizes Jamaica Bay clean-ups where carcasses have been discovered.

The US Supreme Court upheld the right to animal sacrifice on religious grounds in a 1993 ruling.

Under New York State law, however, aggravated cruelty to animals, meanwhile is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison.

Residents noted that a number of religious groups that practice animal sacrifice have been known to use the beach to carry out rites. J.C. Rice

There have been no 911 calls for animal abuse 106th Precinct, which covers Howard Beach, the NYPD said.

But John Di Leonardo, founder and executive director of the animal rescue and advocacy group Humane Long Island, which also services the five boroughs, said Jamaica Bay has emerged as a “hotspot” for animal cruelty.

He estimated he’d received at least a dozen calls about animal sacrifice in the Jamaica Bay area so far this year, compared to three or four for all of 2023.

People regularly come to Jamaica Bay to give offerings, typically flowers and fruits, and leave statues of deities as well as prayer flags. J.C. Rice

“This has been a longstanding issue that was never really tackled,” he said, adding, “There was a big outcry in the press around 2008 … but it seemed to die down, and now it’s coming back in full force.”

Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens), whose district covers Howard Beach and the Rockaways, said the disturbing practice has reached “a high point” this year and needs to come to an end.

“Cruelty to animals is a crime, and this is something we cannot tolerate here,” she said. “I will be working with my federal partners and local religious groups to bring a stop to this immediately.”

A spokesperson for the National Parks Service did not respond to a request for comment.

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