ANIMAL ABUSE AT CEDAR RIDGE (a place now called Makana)

  “You’ve got to be a special kind of sick to think that animal abuse is okay. Isn’t that one of the hallmark signs of sociopathy?” 

-Survivor, 38 years old   

“People who kill animals, such as familial house pets… are not to be trusted.” 

-Survivor, 45 years old

 

We, the children  formerly incarcerated at Cedar Ridge RTC/Academy/Makana would like to denounce the animal abuse that we regularly witnessed and were forced to participate in, in Roosevelt, Utah. This facility, now formally recognized by the state of Utah as “Makana (formerly Cedar Ridge)” (as per its license #), was marketed to parents as a farm in Roosevelt, Utah. It was a place where youth were to benefit from “rural living in a structured, family environment.” Our parents were told we would have therapeutic relationships with animals on-site, which would teach us responsibility… or cruelty?  

As mentioned in previous posts, most of our time at Cedar Ridge was spent building the physical infrastructure of the facility and maintaining the property, including its animal stock: goats, llamas, dogs, guinea hens, chickens, turkeys, goats, rabbits, and whatever showed up (and often died, unexpectedly). 

“Animal therapy” was just another example of “smoke and mirrors” tactics for which NATSAP programs are notorious. Every activity was classified as “therapy.” As a result, many of us are resistant to seeking help from clinicians as adults. We have been traumatized by the concept of “therapy,” and for good reason.  

In prior posts, we already discussed “compost therapy” (a humiliating regime of pointless punishment), “bucket therapy” (having children carry heavy buckets in stress positions until they felt their arms would break), “karate therapy” (which functioned as a smokescreen for sexual harassment and inappropriate touching on sparring Fridays, and regular staff on student violence on the weekdays), and “tractor therapy” (where “therapist” Rob Nielson forced girls to sit on his lap while he drove a tractor); but today, we would like to discuss the infamous “llama therapy,” “goat therapy,” “dog therapy,” etc.  

One survivor summed it up well in saying:  

“For being a privileged dog loving, urban kid, the treatment of animals at Cedar Ridge absolutely traumatized me. I understand [rural Utah has a] different culture or something, but staff bragging about it in graphic detail, about shooting a dog that his wife didn't like and not killing it the first few shots... I can remember the story too well. I was 14. He also made me watch him cut a live turkey’s head off for 'therapy' because 'I was too sensitive'"..... 

Indeed, one of the most disturbing parts of our time at Cedar Ridge often centered on multispecies relationships (Haraway 2001): particularly incidents of animal neglect and abuse that we witnessed, and were forced to participate in, while in-residence at Cedar Ridge.  For instance, as another survivor explained: 

“They [staff] took sadistic pleasure from watching us feel horrified at eating the animals they forced us to take care of and bonded with. Remember when you all (meat eaters) were eating dinner & halfway through staff told you all you were eating Norman, our Steer that we all loved?! I am thankful I was a vegetarian.”

 Beyond our beloved steer, we were forced, in the name of “therapy,” to kill the chickens and turkeys that we cared for. We had to cut off their heads with dull shovels, watching their corpses run in circles bleeding out, and then were forced to eat their remains, or risk being punished. These experiences turned many students into vegetarians.  Vegetarians ate food that was much poorer in terms of nutritional quality than the others (this was a very low standard: raw chickpeas straight from the can, raw tofu, inedible dishes).  

In some instances, children with acute fears of dogs were forced to “train” them, with no experience. These same dogs were then used to chase down children who tried to run away from the facility. Some survivors are afraid of dogs even as adults.  

Children on the higher levels had to wake up at sunrise to care for the goats--shovel their shit, and milk them. Many of us were gashed open by an aggressive billy goat named Clyde, and left with bleeding thighs. Clyde was understandably angry with the human attention and our blatant infringing on his territory.  

“Llama therapy” was a means of generating a nearlessly endless supply of feces for the targeted, singled out, and particularly punished children sentenced to shovel food remnants and feces during so-called “compost therapy.” The llamas and other animals were regularly mistreated and neglected, and thus, they were hostile to our presence on the sporadic occasions we were forced to shovel their shit, clip their nails, and clean their cages. 

Staff member JJ, for example, would often stage “llama races”--where we had to run with angry llamas, who spat and shat and farted at the children, often angered at the unexpected attention.  One survivor summarized the "skills" she mastered at Cedar Ridge, sarcastically, by saying:

“Don’t forget emu and llama handling. We have life skills for days.”  -Survivor, 33 years old

 The rabbits literally roared when the humans came by to clean cages before parent visits. They clawed our arms, leaving them bloody, to free themselves from our grasp.  Yes, the optics looked good, from a distance. The farm animals evoked images of a bucolic, wholesome rural atmosphere, but this was mere marketing, as is almost everything in the troubled teen industry.  We, the children, were much like the animals at Cedar Ridge. We were caged, mistreated, neglected, and ignored. The animals at Cedar Ridge/Makana (formerly Cedar Ridge) were under duress. We, as un-free children, desperate to return to mainstream society, were forced to neglect, beat, and kill our non-human companions. This was a prime example of cruel and unusual punishment.  

We do not trust the facility to maintain ownership of farm animals. Please free them from this facility. Many of our horror stories and nightmares center on animal neglect and abuse. It is unsurprising that so many of us became advocates for animals rights, once freed. 

 #HumaneSocietyofUtah

#AnimalCruelty

#CedarRidgeAcademy

#MakanaformerlyCedarRidge

#BreakingCodeSilence

#WWASPSurvivors

#RooseveltUtah

#ShameonRobNielson