A Cheektowaga woman is facing felony charges for stealing chickens from a farm in Niagara County.
Niagara County Sheriff’s Captain Bruce Elliot said Deborah Hillary Singer stole close to two dozen ducks and chickens from a property on Hoffman Road in Appleton.
“It's definitely interesting. We deal with car accidents, and drug theft. But we don't deal with stolen rural animals,” Elliott said.
Investigators found the stolen birds in Singer's backyard at her home in Cheektowaga. Photos captured that day show some of what authorities’ uncovered including kiddy pools and dog crates used to house the farm animals.
Singer fully admits she took the birds. She believes they were being abused. “There were dead birds in the cages, and dead ducks. The birds that were left, I took. I wasn't going to let anymore birds die,” she told 7 Eyewitness News Reporter, Ali Touhey.
We first met Singer back in February when she needed help removing two cows from her home.
So far, authorities aren't looking into whether those cows may have actually been stolen, too.
As for Singer’s claims of abuse on the property in Appleton, Investigators say they didn’t find any evidence of that. “The chickens did appear to be taken care of, and so did the ducks,” explained Elliott.
Still, Singer maintains the birds were being mistreated and so she called the SPCA for help. But, she said nothing was done. So, she took matters into her own hands.
She's charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. Both are felonies. She’s due in court May 9.
