CANADA -- Shocking allegations of neglect surrounding a dozen gaunt horses in a barn owned by respected Halton Hills holistic veterinarian Sharon Kopinak are under investigation by the Ontario SPCA.
The College of Veterinarians of Ontario has also launched an investigation “into the matter involving Dr. Kopinak,’’ Jan Robinson, the college’s registrar and CEO, told the Star Friday.
Three people who visited the farm near Rockwood on Labour Day weekend and say they took photographs allege that about 12 emaciated horses in a barn appeared to have no access to food or water and to be in a state of weakness and lethargy.
Kopinak told the Star that the Ontario Provincial Police have visited her farm and “nothing is wrong."
In a phone message Tuesday she said “there is no story."
She refused comment in a subsequent phone call and a visit to the farm by a Star reporter Wednesday. “I’m not talking to anybody," Kopinak said.
Wellington County OPP spokeswoman Cheri Rockefeller confirmed police went to the farm on the Labour Day weekend. No charges were laid and the police investigation is closed.
The police report, Rockefeller said, indicates the investigating officer noted horses outside in the field had access to food and looked OK. There was nothing in the report to indicate whether the officer entered the barn, Rockefeller told the Star.
Alison Cross, speaking for the OSPCA, confirmed this week that an investigation is underway but kept all details secret, “to protect the integrity of the investigation.’’
The OSPCA investigation follows allegations of horse neglect at the farm made by Orangeville realtor Carolyn Moon to the Guelph Humane Society (which comes under the OSPCA umbrella) last Saturday. Moon submitted photos she says were taken of emaciated-looking horses in Kopinak’s barn on Aug. 30.
The Star has not verified the photographs, nor been able to enter the barn.
Moon had asked Alice Camplin, 53, who operates an Orangeville-area boarding, riding and grooming facility, to deliver a horse she owns to Kopinak on Aug. 30 because it was having eating problems.
But after she arrived at the farm and walked Moon’s horse into the barn, Camplin says, she saw horses in the “worst shape I’ve ever seen. I have never seen horses this bad before.”
Camplin has worked in the horse industry for three decades.
There was dirty hay in the aisle and a horse walking around loose, but the horses in the stalls were emaciated and the pails for feed and water “bone dry,’’ she said. The animals appeared emaciated and lethargic, some covered in flies and at least two with large open sores on their legs that were oozing pus.
“One of those sores was so big I could put my fist in it. It was sickening,’’ said Camplin, who said she was walking around with the owner but was too shocked to say much.
“I’m looking in the stalls and I see these horses have no water. We were at 32 degrees celsius (89.6 degrees fahreheit) on Friday (Aug. 30) and I’m sweating.’’
She said she offered to put hay and water into the stalls of the horses she saw, but Kopinak told her not to worry about it — it would be taken care of.
She was so “appalled’’ by what she saw that she called Moon after leaving and told her she should not leave her horse there.
“That horse will die if he stays there — I called the owner and told her that,” Camplin said.
After speaking to Camplin, Moon was convinced she should retrieve her horse. Camplin returned to the barn a couple of hours later with Moon and David Baker, Moon’s friend and fellow realtor.
Moon did not go into the barn but stayed outside with the trailer in case anyone came and questioned what they were doing. No one did.
Moon didn’t tell Kopinak she was taking her horse back because she wanted to avoid a confrontation. Camplin and Baker went inside and took photos of the horses before loading Moon’s horse back onto the trailer, she said.
“I was really shocked by what I saw,’’ said Baker.
Horses in the fields looked thin but not as bad as the horses in the barn, he said.
Orangeville equine vet Patrick Hearn looked at the photos of the horses Camplin and Baker said were taken at the barn and said he has “never seen horses this thin’’ in his 25 years of practice.
“When you see more than one, it’s very concerning,” he said. Based on the photos, the horses seem malnourished, he said, “but I don’t know if the malnutrition is a result of disease or dental ... it’s not necessarily negligence.’’
It would be impossible to know the cause without examining the horses and knowing the background, he said.
Leaving wounds open, as seen in the photos, is a valid treatment, he said. They would have to be evaluated at least twice a day and would need topical dressing to minimize infection and inflammation.
Baker, Camplin and Moon say they all made statements about the horses in the barn to Rockwood OPP (which is under the jurisdiction of Wellington County OPP) on Sept. 1.
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| Sharon Kopinak, a rural vet who runs Talking Horse Farm just outside of Acton, has been accused of mistreating horses |
Baker told the Star he’s heard good things about Kopinak and says speaking out about what he saw shouldn’t be taken the wrong way. “This isn’t a witchhunt ... maybe this person is so overwhelmed and can’t manage ...’’
Moon said she first met Kopinak many years ago and says the veterinarian saved her dog when other vets could not.
The investigation launched by the College of Veterinarians of Ontario could end with a decision not to take any further action. If the matter is referred to a hearing, the member veterinarian could then defend herself against any allegations made, Robinson said.
Kopinak graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1966.
(Toronto Star - Sept 7, 2013)
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