WYCKOFF, NJ – A group of young adults broke into Abma’s farm in Wyckoff, New Jersey this weekend and according to owners of the farm, “violated” the farm animals, stole and abused animals.
“Abma’s Farm is a working farm. Four families live here; this is our home and life,” the owners said. “It is NOT a playground, especially at 11pm. Breaking into our farm and barnyard is not only a liability to you but more importantly to our animals.”
Owners said it is clear that animals were disturbed and violated by the group of trespassers who proceeded to ride their donkeys.
“Our animals are very shaken and skittish compared to their normal calm and relaxed nature, and our mini horse has signs of physical abuse,” the farm said. “Several of the gates were opened and our alpaca gate is missing a pin. We cannot account for all of our rabbits and ducks as some of them are missing… Today (Sunday) we continue to assess all of our animals physically and emotionally with the help of our veterinarian and animal control.”
Then, evidence showed up on snap chat as a picture of a girl riding a miniature donkey was posted and shared with the farm.
“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. To update, our farm was broken into last night around 10pm. Tresspassers broke into our Barnyard Petting Zoo and disturbed our animals. They opened gates and rode our miniature donkeys, who should not be supporting that much weight. One person took a snapchat of another person riding our mini donkey and applied the Abma’s Farm geofilter,” the farm said. “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. We must explain the seriousness of this break in. First and foremost, we are a working farm, and four families (and four generations) live here. This is our home. 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.”
As of Sunday, all animals set loose by the trespassers had been recovered and returned to the farm.
The petting zoo will be closed tomorrow, August 24th, to allow for a veterinarian to complete full wellness and health check on all animals.