By Ellen Cans
At around 10 p.m. on Saturday night, a group of teens trespassed on a New Jersey farm, letting themselves in to ride and abuse animals, as per the NY Post. “The sheer disrespect that some people have is truly infuriating,” Jimmy Abma, of Abma’s Farm in Wyckoff, NJ, told the Daily Voice. “There are teenage pranks, and then there’s something like this.”
On Sunday, the farm owners posted on Facebook outlining the multiple dangers that the culprits brought upon the petting zoo. “First and foremost, we are a working farm, and four families (and four generations) live here. This is our home,” the massage said. “Second, from a human safety standpoint, breaking in to animal pens with no animal training is dangerous. Animals can kick, rear up, and trample you. In the dark, anything can happen. Third, the safety of OUR animals has been compromised and that IS. NOT. OKAY.”
The social media posting also mentioned that the troublemakers rode the farm’s miniature donkeys, which are not supposed to carry the weight of a rider. One of the culprits boldly made a Snapchat post of one of them riding a donkey, tagging it to the location of the farm. Before disappearing, the photo was seen by someone who took a snapshot of the message and alerted the farm’s owners. “After a concerned party alerted us to the snapchat, we caught two other trespassers stealing – when we called the police, the two fled the scene,” the Facebook message read.
The trespassers managed to get away, but Abma said he knows exactly who’s responsible. “Unfortunately for them we have pictures and names and we will follow through to make sure everyone is held accountable,” he told the Daily Voice, which ran a photo of a blonde girl riding a miniature donkey.
The farm was closed on Monday while a veterinarian evaluated the animals, and the family cleaned up. “Our animals are very shaken and skittish compared to their normal calm and relaxed nature, and our mini horse has signs of physical abuse,” Abma said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Wyckoff Police Department at 201-891-2121. The farm also expressed appreciation to community members for their support. “From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank our community for showing us an outpouring of love and support after hearing about last night’s events,” the farm said.
