NY farm that supplies Michelin-starred restaurant in hot water after guard dogs escape, kill neighbor’s poodle

NY farm that supplies Michelin-starred restaurant in hot water after guard dogs escape, kill neighbor’s poodle
By: NY Post - US-News Posted On: April 19, 2024 View: 9

It’s the newest foodie trend — farm-to-hospital dining.

A Westchester County farm that provides fresh meat to a $400-a-plate Michelin-starred restaurant has become baked in controversy after two of their guard dogs escaped, mauled a neighbor, killed her poodle and wound up on doggy death row, the Post has learned.

The large-breed pooches named Luna and Akbash — who normally guard the cattle, goats and sheep at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Mount Pleasant — busted loose from their cages in February.

Many former employees told the Times the fencing was ineffective, the paper said. AFP via Getty Images

The dog entered nearby Rockefeller State Park and viciously attacked a woman named Yong Ging Qian on a footpath — leaving her with broken ribs, a mangled hand, brain hemorrhaging and a mild heart attack, the New York Times reported.

Luna, who is a Great Pyrenees, and Owyn, an Akbash, also killed Yong’s 10-pound miniature poodle BaoBao.

The disturbing attack led a local judge to order the two farm dogs put down — an order which the farm successfully fought to be stayed Thursday while an appeals court reconsiders their fate. It also led to a full serving of criticism for the high-end farm’s practices.

“It’s a disaster waiting to happen,” said Bill Costanzo, an agricultural expert from Texas A&M University told the Times about the height of the fences at the farm.

The facility was also questioned by former employees, three of whom told the Times the fencing was ineffective, the paper said.

“I used to get calls from the park staff once a week” regarding animals who had wandered out of the farm, former employee Mike Peterson said.

There have been several other alleged incidents of animals running amok in recent years, including goats, pigs and even cows. AFP via Getty Images

The the two dogs who escaped are trained “guardian dogs,” tasked with protecting livestock at the center, which sits near the sprawling Rockefeller park in the leafy green hamlet of Pocantico Hills in Mount Pleasant.

The park is home to established populations of foxes and coyotes, so the farm keeps guardian dogs like Owyn and Luna.

Much of the livestock winds up served at the farm’s partner restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Farms, which has locations in Manhattan and Pocantico Hills and offers prix fixe menus ranging from $348 to $398 per diner.

The farmers defended their fencing, calling it “industry-leading.” The Washington Post via Getty Images

Blue Hill has been awarded a pair of Michelin stars for its pioneering efforts in the farm-to-table food movement, as well as a Michelin “green star,” reserved for eateries that prioritize sustainable business practices.

While it’s not clear exactly how the dogs escaped their confines, employees pointed to the center’s mobile fencing, which is no taller than three and a half feet high, as the dogs’ most likely escape route, the Times writes.

A Stone Barns Center spokesman told The Post that the electrified fencing used to contain animals”industry leading.” He also said farm staffers routinely assemble and move the fencing, which enables them to find and fix any deficiencies.

When asked about the complaint of animal escapes, the spokesman said escapes were rare, but that it was something that happens occasionally on all farms.

Stone Barns Center has used dogs for over 20 years to protect the livestock from any outside threats. The Washington Post via Getty Images

“As long as livestock and guardian dogs have been on farms, animals have traveled outside their penned areas. To say they’re ‘escaping’ is false and misleading. As to livestock, it’s unusual for it to happen and, for guardian dogs, it’s very rare,” the spokesperson said.

“Factually speaking, when livestock wander beyond a penned area, it’s never because they’re somehow motivated to leave it. It’s usually because a tree, a predator, or something brought down a portion of the fencing, and the animal finds itself outside it. They’re usually found in the immediate vicinity doing what they do – grazing – and, again, it doesn’t happen often.”

There have been several other alleged incidents of animals running amok in recent years, including goats, pigs and even cows. In one particularly memorable incident in August of 2018, a herd of cattle escaped the farm and wound up stampeding through Rockefeller Preserve.

The fate of the dogs is currently in the air, pending action from a judge. AFP via Getty Images

One steer weighing over 1,000 pounds was on the loose for six weeks, prompting Westchester County Police to send a helicopter to help Mount Pleasant cops locate the animal.

According to Eater, the bovine was eventually found and shot by a police marksman before being butchered in the woods by Stone Barns staff. The publication said that meat from the beast’s hindquarters was later served at a staff function.

A spokesman for Stone Barns Center told the Times that the escaped cows had been sent to the farm accidentally and that its fences were inadequate to contain them.

The farm also defended their fences.

“The electrified, mobile fencing we use to pen our animals while in pasture is industry-leading, has been in use for 50 years, and was designed for the type of pasture-rotation system we practice,” the spokesperson said.

“It’s important to note that Stone Barns Center has successfully used guardian dogs for over 20 years to protect our livestock from predators,” the spokesperson told The Post. “This incident was the only instance of a guardian dog biting a neighboring person or a neighboring dog.”

Meanwhile, Yong, is considering filing a lawsuit against the farm due to her extensive injuries, her lawyer told the Times.

The dogs, however did have a defender in Peterson, who said his son played with them when he was a toddler and told the paper they were “very sweet.”

And while the dogs fate hangs in the balance, neighbor Georgia Ranney called them “beautiful dogs” — but added “they shouldn’t have been running about,” the Times said.

Read this on NY Post - US-News Header Banner
  Contact Us
  • Postal Service
    YubNub Digital Media
    361 Patricia Drive
    New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168
  • E-mail
    admin@yubnub.digital
  Follow Us
  About

YubNub! It Means FREEDOM! The Freedom To Experience Your Daily News Intake Without All The Liberal Dribble And Leftist Lunacy!.