Tammy Duffy, a volunteer who was working at the Hamilton Township Animal Shelter reached out to authorities in 2018 to report concerns about conditions there. By July of 2018, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office had started an investigation after receiving two complaints from the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, according to local news reporting.
Allegations were made that the shelter was “caring” for the animals using expired medication, euthanizing animals who had only been held for a few days rather than at least a full week, going against state-mandated law 4:19-15.16. An article in NJ.com noted that over 300 animals were killed prematurely.
Current mayor Jeff Martin helped call for an investigation which allowed Councilman Rick Tigue and former Councilwoman Ileana Schirmer to generate a report, the subcommittee report, which presented the findings of the investigation.
The subcommittee report states, “The Hamilton Township Animal Shelter needs to upgrade and put into place more efficient processes and produces, such as record-keeping and inventory of medications and other products, which include adequate, proper and consistent training of the shelter employees as to those process(es) and produce(s) to maintain consistency, accountability and sustainability.”
Once the state got involved, the state sent its own health officers to inspect the condition of the shelter. Those officers have said they found two dozen deficiencies in the way the shelter was run.
When Kelly Yaede, the mayor at the time, was addressed by the public, she stated she had the West Windsor health officer, along with Hamilton, come to the shelter and inspect the facility, in which they found no violations.
However, Jeff Plunket, the now former Hamilton Township Health officer, was also the officer for West Windsor and Upper Freehold.
Todd Bencivengo, the supervisor of the shelter and Hamilton’s top animal control officer, was “knowing and willing to use township resources for his personal benefit,” according to the subcommittee report. Bencivengo was housing his own dog at the shelter.
Bencivengo, the shelter manager at the time, took a plea deal of guilt. He received a pre-trial intervention and later retired.
Plunket, the health officer who ignored the issues at the shelter, did not take a deal with the court and has a pending case that awaits trial. He is now retired and no longer working for Hamilton Township.
Yaede addressed the public in a YouTube video where she defended herself against the allegations. In the video, she lists all things done through the shelter that has been updated and taken care of.
“I also recognize that some of the charges being made regarding pets being humanely put down, prior to a required waiting period, have painted our shelter in an unfavorable light.” Yaede states. She then continues to address these issues from her standpoint.
Yaede also claimed the charges were politically motivated by the Democrats to make her look bad, for this all occurred during the time of an upcoming election.
Yaede did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Since the incident, changes have been made. According to the current mayor Jeff Martin, there has been a stop in the practice of euthanasia at the shelter.
He stated they now have a system of digital record keeping which is more reliable and allows the shelter to pay “attention to detail.”
When asked if he now considers the facility safe, Martin replied, “absolutely,” adding “openness of communication shows a success story [for the shelter animals], which otherwise would not have been possible.”
Martin concluded by saying that among his staff and the volunteers at the shelter, there is “new energy, with shelter renewed commitment.”
