Infant pulled from home where horses found neglected, covered in manure

NEW YORK -- The parents of an infant are facing charges after the child was found living in hazardous conditions where ten horses turned up abused and neglected in the Cayuga County Town of Conquest.

Thirty-one-year old David Meeks and 30-year-old Rhode Wing are charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

 

It comes as two others face animal cruelty charges in the case. Fifty-three-year old Mary Wing and 66-year-old Lester Wing are facing misdemeanor charges after the horses were found virtually hidden away in piles of manure.

The property has since been condemned, according to the Town of Conquest Supervisor Charles Knapp.

State Police and the Cayuga County SPCA responded to the home at 10671 Egypt Road on Tuesday to investigate the condition of ten horses being kept in a barn on the property. The SPCA determined all the horses needed to be removed due to their medical and physical conditions. One horse had to be immediately euthanized.

The horses were being kept in tiny stalls, barely able to move, and
surrounded by up to three feet of manure. Several of them were covered with manure when they were found.

The hooves on the horses had gone so long without trimming many of them started curling up. Some of them are in so much pain they try to avoid putting weight on their back hooves. Several also have difficulty walking. The SPCA arranged for the surviving horses to be cared for at other local farms.

On Thursday, we learned Cracker Box, a farm rescue organization, has three of the horses in its possession. We're told all three are improving, and that their hooves have been trimmed.

Mary and Lester Wing were issued appearance tickets and are scheduled to appear in the Town of Conquest Court on May 7.

Meanwhile, the parents of that 6-month-old child are facing child endangerment charges. State Police say the baby boy was living at the home under conditions that were hazardous to his health.

Arrangements were made for the child to stay somewhere else while the conditions were remedied. A dog was also removed from the home that needed immediate medical attention.

The parents, David Meeks and Rhode Wing, were issued appearance tickets and are scheduled to appear in the Town of Conquest Court on April 16.

(CNYCentral - April 12, 2012)

Earlier:

• Badly neglected horses discovered standing in several feet of manure