Public Statement from Hen Harbor: On the 2020 Wildfires, Animal Place’s Retaliation, and the Deaths That Followed
In the summer of 2020, during one of California’s worst wildfire seasons, Hen Harbor faced an emergency evacuation. In that time of panic and chaos, Animal Place inserted itself into our crisis, initially offering help—only to later attempt to permanently take possession of the animals we were evacuating.
When I—Ariana Huemer, founder of Hen Harbor—refused to relinquish legal custody of the animals, I received a phone call from someone associated with Animal Place relaying the message that I would “regret” not turning the animals over to them. When I continued to refuse, Animal Place escalated the situation by submitting false affidavits to Santa Cruz County Animal Services. These affidavits were filled with hysteria, hyperbole, and no supporting photographs or documentation.
Based on those documents, and despite no independent investigation, law enforcement seized dozens of animals from Hen Harbor in September and October 2020. The result was catastrophic: Many animals were killed, were lost or died in custody before I could legally challenge the seizure. A judge later ordered the surviving animals returned to me.
I filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in 2021, Huemer v. Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter Foundation et al., which was settled in late 2024 for $55,000. The lead Animal Control officer in the case was later relieved of duty and is no longer employed by Santa Cruz County.
It is important to also share what happened during the original fire evacuation itself: Animal Place volunteers transported birds from my sanctuary in an unventilated moving van on a 100+ degree day. I only allowed the animals to board that van after being told repeatedly that a second, air-conditioned van was waiting down the road for transfer.
That transfer never happened. Dozens of animals died in that van. This was not rescue—it was negligent slaughter.
Adding further cruelty to injury, Animal Place weaponized my autism diagnosis (Level 1 ASD) against me. They pointed to my communication style and emotional regulation under extreme stress as evidence of incompetence or even drug use. I was not under the influence of anything. I was under the weight of trauma and evacuation chaos. Their ableist smear campaign is repugnant and should never be tolerated in any advocacy space that claims to center compassion.
Animal Place presents itself as a leader in farmed animal rescue. But in my experience, they used their power to:
Retaliate against a smaller sanctuary
Submit false allegations to law enforcement
Facilitate the death of animals in their care
Exploit a disabled rescuer’s neurodivergence to discredit her
I’m speaking out now because silence enables harm. Let this be a record—for the animals who died, for the rescuers too afraid to speak, and for every person who’s been gaslit or dismissed by larger institutions wielding power without accountability.
— Ariana Huemer Founder, Hen Harbor www.henharbor.org