Hawaiian Humane Society President Pam Burns says fines and restitution assessed against a company that operated the state’s largest puppy mill wasn’t punishment enough because the company has gone out of business even as its former officers have opened a similar operation on Hawaii island.
The defunct company, Bradley International, was sentenced Wednesday in Kaneohe District Court after pleading no contest in December to 153 counts of animal cruelty stemming from the discovery of emaciated dogs at a Waimanalo facility in February 2010.
But because the company has gone out of business, none of the fines or restitution will be paid.
"Justice was not served," Burns said after the sentencing. "It really felt as though Bradley International and their officers got away with it."
The company was ordered to pay $370,701 in restitution to the Humane Society for the recovery of 153 dogs, a $2,000 fine for each count of animal cruelty, totaling $306,000, and $8,415 in court fees, according to defense attorney Jason Burks.
Burns said that last year, Vernon Luke, the former vice president of Bradley, and his daughter Sheryl Luke-Kalani opened another puppy mill in Mountain View.
Humane Society staff spoke with employees at that facility who said puppies there had died, supplies were inadequate and dogs were inadequately cared for. Some dogs were shipped to Luke-Kalani’s Aiea pet store, Aloha Pet Shop, Burns said.
Bradley’s attorney said that unless the corporation restarts, "there’s no one there to pay" because the company’s only assets were the dogs, which were seized, and Bradley International had gone out of business. Prosecutors asked the court to prohibit the individual officers from operating other animal-related businesses, but that request was denied because prosecutors never individually charged the officers, he said.
The Luke family, in a statement, said it is no longer in the business of commercial breeding. "Our family has been the subject of malicious verbal abuse and harassment by persons who have heard rumors and have not taken the time to know our values," the statement said. "Unfortunate mistakes were made in the past and after (Wednesday)’s ruling, the Luke family would like to move forward with their lives."