MORENO VALLEY – Three men face animal cruelty charges for firing at free-ranging burros.
On Saturday in the early afternoon, the Riverside Sheriff’s Department received reports that there were individuals shooting at feral burros near the 9700 block of Sunnybrook Drive. Officers discovered three subjects who fit the description of the shooters and detained them, recovering a firearm. After further investigation, officers determined that the suspects had been firing at the animals, although none of the burros had been injured.
Discharging a firearm in close proximity to occupied homes is illegal, as is harming or harassing the federally protected burros. Jonhy Fabela, 18 of Wilmington, Joel Rodriquez, 21 of Lennox and Edurado Loza, 29 of Lennox were arrested for attempted animal cruelty and discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner.
In October, a burro rescue group called Donkey Land, which monitors the Moreno Valley burro herd, noted that young burros were disappearing. It is possible that predators, such as mountain lions were attacking the young animals, but burro enthusiasts believed that thieves could be abducting them for breeding, or killing them for food.
The wild burros in Moreno Valley and elsewhere are federally protected and it is illegal to take them or injure them. According to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) , historical data show that burro herds come from abandoned or escaped mining stock. California’s free roaming wild horses and burros inhabit 7.1 million acres of public land and an additional 2.3 million acres of non-BLM land. California’s appropriate management level is currently 1,746 horses and 453 burros.
Anyone with information about this incident or any crime related to this incident is urged to contact Officer Alcantar at the Moreno Valley Station at 951-486-6700, or anonymously through Crime Tips at 800-950-2444.
