Twenty animals -- 10 horses, the rest ponies and donkeys -- were in such bad shape in Sumner County that they'll be seized by deputies Wednesday morning. Animal Control and equine rescue volunteers found the animals living in terrible conditions.
Under one pile of hay was a dead horse. Another lay yards away. Wild animals had been feeding on the carcasses. Sumner County animal control Sgt.Michael McLeeren saw the animals were in poor condition and quickly obtained a search warrant.
"I called the ag-extension agents immediately he came out to the scene he evaluated each horse individually he advised to take them immediately," he said
Sgt. McLeeran said the animals were slowly starving. "I didn't see any grain feed that I could observe on the property I did see some hay on the property but it was poor quality hay.
Animal Control deputies and equine volunteers assessed the animals Tuesday. Volunteers will feed the horses, and veterinarians will make sure the animals have their proper shots. The ten horses are faring the worst, officials said.
The lot has no grazing value, it's mostly mud, and Animal Control deputies said the hay is worthless.
Deputies said they knew something was wrong when they received five complaints Tuesday morning. They quickly got a search warrant.
Tracy Jackson who lives across the street said she would get angry every time she drove by the property. "Who ever the owner is I would like to know why they haven't taken care of the animals," she said
Animal Control said there may be other horses in the same predicament, as the man who owns the animals leases a number of properties in the county. It also isn't the first time the owner has been brought to Animal Control's attention.
Sgt. Michael McLerran said this type of animal abuse won't end until there is more sting to the punishment.
The owner will be charged with 20 counts of animal abuse.
0 comments:
Post a Comment