BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — After finding a barrel of 13 dead cats in November 2023, Yesenia Giles says the problem persists as she found more than two dozen dead animals in east Bakersfield.
- Video shows multiple dead animals found in East Bakersfield
- Yesenia Giles, a local animal advocate, found the animals during the times she goes out to feed stays.
- “Those areas out in the rural parts of the county are notorious for being dumped on. I mean the problem has existed for years and years,” says Al Rojas, the program manager with code compliance.
Dumped trash like this broken hot tub, mattresses among other debris are common on this stretch of Muller Road, but these aren’t the only things being dumped out here.
In a place that grows much of Kern County’s food, you might also find Kern County’s trash.
Yesenia Giles drives through this area to feed and give water to the stray dogs in the fields of East Bakersfield, but after multiple stops on her route, Giles says she counted 50 dead animals along the road in a little over an hour.
“Once I look back on what I saw out there, then it sucks," she said. "It hurts that people are this cruel.”
Giles said she stopped to document the animals after her friend found a pair of dead bulldogs left on the street with their house and bowls.
“It could be your neighbor that’s dumping all these animals here. It could be the person you work with. It could be anybody, and we don’t know if they’re hurting the animals,” she said.
Among the empty ice cream box, paper, and litter Giles says it’s normal to see dead house pets and farm animals on her routes.
“Every weekend, you’re going to find a bag of roosters out here,” Giles said, showing a bag of dead roosters.
In a statement to 23ABC News, Chairman David Couch says,
“This is a problem that we continually battle. It’s unfortunate we even have to do this, and I certainly wish the people who do this took more pride in their community, but I do appreciate the public letting us know when they see illegal dumping. We’ll get it cleaned up.”
“Those areas out in the rural parts of the county are notorious for being dumped on. I mean the problem has existed for years and years,” Al Rojas, the program manager with code compliance, said.
He adds community members should file a complaint when they see an issue so they can send out a team to pick up the trash.
“Once they see a pile it just grows, so it’s important for us to remove the pile as soon as we see it,” he said.
This area belongs to Zack Scrivner, Kern county district two supervisor, who's been on medical leave since May 6th, as he is under investigation for accusations of assault back in April.
Despite his absence, John Antonaros with the district two office tells 23ABC over the phone,
"We are here working every day to address constituents concerns," adding "It's important for people to reach out to our office to address the issues they're dealing with."
“This is all of our problem," Giles said. "This is everybody’s problem not just his.”
Kern County District 2 Supervisor Zack Scrivner has missed six board of supervisor meetings, and there’s no date as to when he will return, and if you come across a dead animal or dumped trash, you can report it on the MyKern app.
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