Llamas and ostriches were taken from an exotic meat farm. Was it theft or rescue?
LOS ANGELES - Before sunrise one day in December, thieves sneaked into Anshu Pathak's exotic meat farm in Riverside County and pulled off a singular heist.
Someone cut away a section of fence. The evidence, Pathak said, suggests that they backed a trailer into the gap and lured up to 30 llamas and 160 ostriches inside. Also, emus, lambs, goats, alpacas and geese.
Then, they were gone. Animal control officers and sheriff's deputies wrangled about 50 additional llamas and emus that had spilled into the street. Another emu was found the next day wandering near Highway 74.
Days later, against the backdrop of the snow-capped San Bernardino Mountains, Pathak inspected the hastily patched gash in the barrier surrounding his Perris property. He was upset, sure. Yet he couldn't help but appreciate the Noah-like coordination it took to make off with such a large menagerie of animals.
"It must be organized, you know," Pathak said. "They planned it nicely."
The burglary was weeks in the making, coming after controversy over the
