The county's animal control officer, Dwayne Oliver, said authorities were called to the area Thursday after one of the horses escaped into a neighbor's property. He said the horse was in extremely bad shape and had to be euthanized.
Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly said a search warrant was issued the next day.
Authorities responded to the 10-acre property where Oliver said they found 15 more horses, all in various stages of malnourishment and neglect. They also found 16 horse carcasses.
The owner, 65-year-old Horace Mearl White, was arrested Monday on 32 counts of animal cruelty. He was booked into the Laudedale County Detention Center.
"This is probably one of the largest (animal cruelty cases) we've had as far as horses," Oliver said.
Oliver explained the horses' conditions are rated on a scale of zero to eight. One horse was so far gone it had to be put down right away. Oliver said two others that were in the worst shape of the remaining stock were at level one, which he described as the "stage before death." Those two were being treated as a priority Monday.
The 15 horses left alive will be treated. After that, the county will decide the next step. Oliver said this will likely mean adoption.
(AL.com - July 28, 2014)
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