State police received several calls May 29 about possible animal cruelty to three horses, according to Trooper Jennifer Fleishman, public information officer for Troop B.
Moira Town Supervisor Cindy Gale said the horses used to be on Clark Street and were moved to Best Road this summer.
Owners Frank Burgess and Brenda Waite Shampo said they received the horses in the same condition a few months ago, according to state police.
Trooper Fleishman said Monday that the horses recently were moved to an undisclosed location. Mr. Burgess and Ms. Shampo still own one of the horses, police said. They could not be reached for comment.
Veterinarian Julie Clas “determined it was doing much better, so they will keep it,” Franklin County District Attorney Derek P. Champagne said, referring to reports he received from the state police.
Ms. Gale recounted an unpleasant conversation with Ms. Shampo in May.
“She told me she was trying to fix them up and that she got them like that,” Ms. Gale said in June, adding that Ms. Shampo suggested her horses were none of her business. She said she contacted police after the confrontation.
Mr. Champagne said police visited the area no fewer than 20 times, and Trooper Fleishman said the visiting officer “always found plenty of water and food.”
[Another article stated that what "food" was seen was some crushed watermelon, something horses do not eat.]
Ms. Gale noted that the reason the troopers have seen adequate food and water in the area is because residents have been feeding them and the owners have been taking the credit.
Mr. Champagne said one of the horses had to be taken to an equine facility for better nourishment and treatment.
Sue McDonough, New York State Humane Association president and a retired police officer, noted that jail time for those that are arrested could be up to a year for an animal cruelty charge.
She said she has been through several hundred cruelty investigations in the 26 years she was a policewoman. She has been around horses for around 50 years.
Equine Advocates PresidentSusan Wagner of Chatham said one of Equine Advocates supporters had shown the picture of the chestnut horse to her on Facebook.
“People contact me because I know the law,”Ms. McDonough said.
However, she noted it is up to the police to deal with the situation. “I personally didn’t go [see the horses], but it’s pretty obvious they’re not being cared for properly,”Ms. McDonough said.
Proper care of horses is the correct food, clean water, and a three-sided structure for shelter.
“Sick animals need veterinary attention,” Ms. Wagner said. “They need grain and good hay.”
Ms. Wagner noted that emaciated horses she has taken care of have been in the hospital for at least a month for recovery.
Ms. McDonough added it is important for police officers to learn how to deal with animal cruelty. Only those that go to seminars she teaches around the state know what to look for, she suggested.
“We need to get it into the penal law,” she said, noting that police officers are taught about the penal laws and criminal procedure in the academy, but not so much the agriculture and market laws.
“They don’t know what to look for,” she said.
For the past three years, New York State Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-67th District, has been trying to get a bill passed that would allow police officers in the academy to go through adequate training on how to deal with animal cruelty.
(Watertown Daily Times - Aug 29 2013)
[This is a very odd story. First, the photo began making its rounds on the internet with people asking for help. Then the state police got involved. However, all the news articles "poo poo" animal cruelty allegations and seem to support the police who are saying nothing's wrong here, move on. If you have time and the inclination, read up all the stories for yourself and decide if there's something fishy going on.
A post from one of the articles:
"These photos are real. I saw these horses for myself on Thursday. The chestnut horse has open draining wounds on his back. There was no running source of water, no land for grazing, no shelter at all. Area farmers have been bringing hay to these poor horses.The owner was convicted of animal abuse for a crime he committed Dec 25, 2007 and served 6 months jail time. This is public record. There are pictures of these horses in April and they were not emaciated, people were actually riding them. Go to the North Country Animal Facebook page to read more...There were other animals on Clark Street moira that were also neglected....just ask the neighbors. If nothing is done to save these horses it will be a recovery not a rescue!"]
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