Manorville Animal Sanctuary Double D Bar Ranch Charged With Neglect  

A Manorville-based animal sanctuary is facing a slew of charges for allegedly failing to properly care for cows, goats, horses, pigs, sheep, a mule, and an alpaca, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Double D Bar Ranch, Inc. was charged with 112 counts of animal neglect and attorneys for the corporation entered a not guilty plea on its behalf. District Court Judge Susan A. Berland granted prosecutors requests to bar the ranch from taking in additional animals and allowing investigators to continuously monitor the welfare of the animals that are still on the property.

“No matter what name it operates under, a ‘sanctuary’ is not a sanctuary when it becomes a place of suffering,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney. “When those who claim to provide care instead allow neglect and cruelty, we will take necessary action.” 

Prosecutors said Suffolk County police detectives in the district attorney’s Biological, Environmental, and Animal Safety Team (BEAST) visited Double D Bar Ranch almost daily after receiving numerous complaints about the welfare of animals on the property last month. Detectives allegedly observed hundreds of animals — including dogs, cats, chickens, turkeys, peacocks, and assorted waterfowl — with improper shelter in freezing temperatures and no access to liquid water, authorities said. Some of the animals were dead and others had untreated medical conditions such as dental disease, tumors, matting, wounds, respiratory infections, and emaciation, according to investigators. 

Dozens of animals were removed from the ranch, and it was ticketed on Feb. 11. Attorneys for the ranch maintain its innocence.

“Our client denies these charges, and we have evidence to refute these allegations,” said Nora Marino and Joe Murray, the two attorneys representing the ranch. “Double D has been providing unwanted and discarded animals a safe haven for almost three decades. They have been trusted by community members, rescue organizations, and even law enforcement, to do so. To go after our client like this, with such forcefulness, is sad and disturbing. But we are confident we will prevail in the end.”