Bertie Man Charged With Cruelty to Animals After PETA Finds Tethered Dog With Chain Embedded in Neck

For Immediate Release:
May 1, 2025

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Bertie County resident, Lionel James Norfleet, has just been charged with cruelty to animals after PETA fieldworkers on April 13 discovered a dog named Yale with a heavy metal chain wrapped so tightly around his neck that it embedded deeply into his flesh. The chain had caused a badly infected open wound that was bleeding, necrotic, and crawling with maggots, as flesh began to grow around it. When PETA fieldworkers found him, Yale was in pain, lethargic, and could barely lift his head. He was signed over to PETA and euthanized to stop his suffering.

PETA is renewing its call on the Bertie County Commissioners to take cruelty to animals as seriously as Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin and his deputies did in this case.

Yale with a chain embedded in his neck. Photo: PETA. Additional photos are available here.

“Instead of taking action to prevent the suffering of countless dogs like Yale who are trapped at the end of a chain right now, the Bertie County Board of Commissioners contemplates robbing the fund meant for desperately needed improvements to the decrepit, noncompliant animal shelter structure, which is hardly a shelter at all—to build a basketball court,” says PETA Director Rachel Bellis. “PETA has repeatedly brought the abysmal state of animal welfare in Bertie County to the Commissioners’ attention, yet they continue to look the other way. With summer almost here, we urge the Board to pass an emergency ordinance banning chaining and implementing minimum standards of care.”

Every year, PETA’s fieldworkers visit thousands of neglected dogs—forgotten, ignored, often found without shade, drinkable water, or any other way to cool down (or stay warm and dry in winter). Dogs relegated to the outdoors are often deprived of veterinary care, exercise, companionship, or even a kind word and are kept confined to the same few square feet of space day in and day out. That’s why PETA urges everyone to keep dogs indoors and works with government officials to require adequate food, water, and veterinary care to prevent suffering. PETA has been lobbying Bertie County elected officials to strengthen the county ordinance and pass a ban on keeping dogs tethered outdoors, like those the Towns of Windsor and Aulander—among many other North Carolina localities—have already passed.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.