Disturbing Find on Filthy Broken-Down Bus: Animals to Be Tested for Human DNA After Authorities Discover Who Driver Is
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
A disturbing find on a broken-down bus led to the arrest of one man and the rescue of dozens of abused animals.
Pennsylvania’s Eastern Adams Regional Police Department discovered the converted school bus disabled and stuck in traffic on June 15, according to WPMT-TV in York. Officers ran the identification of the driver, Shawn Hirschbine, and arrested him on an outstanding warrant out of West Virginia.
Authorities then searched the bus and a trailer it was pulling, uncovering a disgusting situation that nobody expected.
According to WPMT, nearly 40 animals were found crammed in squalid living conditions.
Dogs, ducks, chickens, turkeys, a bull and a pony were all eventually rescued from the bus and trailer.
Despite the menagerie of domesticated animals, this was by no means a tranquil farm scene.
The live chickens were being used to feed the dogs, three German shepherds and an Australian shepherd, according to the Adams County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Most disturbing of all, the pony and bull were suspected of being used for bestiality.
The Adams SPCA took responsibility for the menagerie and, after storing them overnight in the bus, was working to help the animals recover.
Hirschbine had a similar encounter with authorities in 2022 and was arrested and charged with multiple crimes against animals, according to the SPCA.
In that incident, police in Orchard Park, New York, found animals under Hirschbine’s care to be in horrendous condition. Sheep, a cow and a horse were discovered crammed into a filthy trailer without even enough room to lie down.
These animals, along with a chicken and four dogs, were then rescued.
Once the Adams SPCA discovered Hirschbine’s history, the group immediately knew it needed to check the newly rescued creatures for human DNA.
“Knowing what we know about this individual … and his past crimes, we felt it necessary to do testing on several of the animals to check for human DNA,” the group wrote on Facebook. “Even though this is going to cost us about $10,000 we feel it’s necessary to do everything we can to get justice for the animals.”
The animal protection group then made an even more disturbing allegation against Hirschbine.
“The dogs were being fed the chickens and the bull and pony were being used for bestiality purposes (in another state). I’m not going to go into a lot of detail because as I said, it’s been a really hard day,” the post said. “This is not something we see everyday and it’s not something we ever want to see again.”
The Adams SPCA temporarily closed its doors to deal with the unexpected influx of abused animals.
While none of the animals was up for adoption, the group asked the public for donations to help care for the new arrivals.
In a Facebook update on June 21, the SPCA said some of the animals showed signs of sexual abuse.
“Most of the animals are doing well, some aren’t doing as well, and unfortunately some didn’t make it,” it said.
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