Ginger Swartz says when she saw the story on LEX 18 last week on Tommy Browning and his horses in Scott County, she wasn't surprised to learn he was under investigation again for possible neglect after neighbors reported their concerns to deputies.
"We had pictures of horses," said Swartz. "I had state police out there he gets a slap on the hand and here we are again."
In 2009, Swartz was president of the Bath County Humane Society when she went to authorities over what she called grossly thin and neglected horses under the care of Browning at the time. "We're not talking 4 or 5 horses at this point," she said. "I'm talking 120 horses that were very thin."
Swartz says she documented pictures of the horses, and Browning was charged with cruelty to animals second-degree for failing to provide adequate food for the horses. Two years later, a Bath County court dismissed the charge.
Browning told LEX 18 over the phone Monday that the horses come to him in bad condition. He says he takes the horses the stock yards can't sell and tries to fatten them up to use as nursing mares or sell them once they are healthier. It's a claim Swartz doesn't buy, and she's waiting to see what Scott County authorities will do
To date, Browning is not facing charges in the Scott County case.
(Lex18 - Apr 1, 2013)
