Manuel also faces two counts of assault and battery on a police officer and a single count of resisting arrest after he struggled with MSPCA officials and Ludlow police when they served him a search warrant for the property.
Manuel denied the charges at his arraignment Monday in Palmer District Court, according to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.
He was ordered held without the right to bail pending a hearing planned for Wednesday to determine if he is competent to stand trial, officials said.
Halpin said the 35 animals are now under the care of veterinarians with the MSPCA at its Nevins Farm in Methuen and at the Animal Rescue League of Boston’s facility in Dedham.
Officials found four donkeys, eight ponies, six pigs, four goats, four alpacas, four ducks, two sheep, and a goose, emu and rabbit at the property.
“We are still evaluating all of the animals in our care to determine the full extent of their health issues, and we’ll treat them accordingly,” Halpin said.
Most were underweight, including one of the ponies that officials described as severely emaciated. It is now undergoing a monitored re-feeding program. Some of the other ponies had overgrown hooves.
One of the alpacas was so weak from hunger that it was unable to stand on its own, Halpin said. It was sent to the Tufts Veterinary Center in Grafton for critical care, he said.
Halpin said the MSPCA has set up a donation page through its website to offset the cost of veterinary care for the animals. The address is www.mspca.org/ludlowanimals.
Manuel had previously been charged with 10 counts of animal cruelty after a Dec. 9 inspection of the property on Sroka Lane showed the ponies and donkeys living in a pen that provided no shelter from the elements, and there was no access to food and water, MSPCA officials said. The animals at that time were found to be wet and covered with snow.
He was given until Dec. 17 to install a proper shelter, but when that deadline passed without improvements, the charges were filed against him. He denied the charges at his Dec. 23 arraignment and the case was continued until March 5.
MSPCA officer Christine Allenberg, who conducted the Dec. 9 inspection, said, “Our primary concern now is the health and well-being of these animals, and we’ll do everything we can to help them regain their health.” At the same time, she said, they will “vigorously pursue justice” against Manuel in court, as they do in every case of reported animal cruelty.
Manuel has had animals at the Sroka Lane site since October. It had been reported previously that he was interested in creating a petting zoo.
(MassLive - February 10, 2014)
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