The owner of a popular Downtown Wilkes-Barre exotic animal rescue operation who is well-known in the community for his educational outreach efforts was arrested Wednesday on felony animal cruelty charges alleging he tortured and maimed the animals in his care.
Cameron English, 38, of 5 Bow Creek Road, Fairview Twp., is facing 42 charges that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Luzerne County filed against him following an April raid of his business, CDE Exotics.
Since opening in February 2016, English and his travelling menagerie of snakes and spiders have entertained and educated children at events ranging from backyard birthday parties to school-sanctioned events.
The charges filed against English on Wednesday, however, allege the animals being offered up to the public as educational exhibits suffered torture, abuse and mistreatment at his hands — including allegations that he performed an amateur amputation on a bird’s leg using a length of fishing line.
CDE Exotics in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The charges follow an April raid of CDE Exotics, located at 95 S. Main St., by officials from the SPCA, the City of Wilkes-Barre and other agencies.
According to the complaint, the raid came about after an animal control officer developed “severe concerns” about the conditions inside the facility following a visit April 1.
Officers entering the building on April 21 were hit by the “overwhelming odor of ammonia and decomposing animal remains,” finding cages full of feces, urine, spoiled food and debris, the charges allege.
Many of the animals lacked food and water, and they appeared severely emaciated, dehydrated, lethargic and sickly, according to the complaint.
Police found diseased reptiles and decomposing snake carcasses in cages alongside live but emaciated venomous snakes. Also recovered from the facility was a live timber rattlesnake that was illegal to possess, the charges allege.
Birds in the facility were suffering from an array of medical conditions, some having necrotic limbs after having endured what was described in the complaint as “traumatic amputations.” Among the allegations is a claim that English amputated at least one bird’s leg with fishing line.
Soaring Spirits Sanctuary in Beech Creek, which assisted police in the operation, wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday that the facility was infested with maggots and flies, and featured what the bird rescue group described as an amateur “surgery table.”
Polly, a type of cockatoo called a galah, was found to have had one foot “unprofessionally amputated,” while the other foot “was literally rotting away from her body and mangled,” according to the rescue.
“Cameron English is not a veterinarian. He is not a veterinary technician,” Soaring Spirits wrote. “How many animals suffered torture under the knife of Cameron English?”
The group went on to allege that “death was everywhere” at CDE Exotics, including in an unpowered commercial freezer that was “packed with dead animals” and leaking decomposing fluids onto the pavement.
During a phone interview with The Citizens’ Voice at the time of the raid, English denied mistreating the animals at his facility.
“For some reason, they were unaware that we rescued all these animals,” English said. “We’ve been a 501(c)(3) nonprofit since June 2020. There was no animal cruelty.”
English similarly denied abusing his animals to the police, saying some of the birds had only recently entered his facility and were still awaiting veterinary care, according to the complaint.
However, the charges allege that his veterinarian had not treated the animals nor advised English to conduct the fishing-line amputation.
CDE Exotics, located at 95 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre, and on Friday, April 24, 2026, was ordered to be closed down following a joint investigation. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
News of English’s arrest on Wednesday spread quickly on social media, with several animal groups taking to Facebook to criticize his operation.
The Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center shared a photo of a mangled bird that was missing a foot, saying the center’s owners had been among those who reported English and that they had been “absolutely crucified” by his supporters for acting.
“Having a license, calling yourself a ‘rescue,’ or telling people you work with wildlife does not automatically make someone ethical,” the owners wrote in the post. “A title doesn’t guarantee compassion. A permit doesn’t tell you what happens when nobody is watching. And sometimes, when people who actually work with animals raise concerns and go as far as reporting those concerns to authorities, there is a reason!!!”
English is facing 42 charges, including 10 felony counts each of aggravated cruelty to animals involving torture and aggravated cruelty to animals causing death or serious injury; 10 misdemeanor counts each of animal cruelty and neglect; and two misdemeanor licensing violations.
Magisterial District Judge Kyle Halesey arraigned English on the charges Wednesday afternoon and set his bail at $15,000.
According to online records, English had been released from the Luzerne County Correctional Facility as of Thursday morning after posting bond.
He is next due to appear at Luzerne County Central Court for a preliminary hearing Oct. 19.