NEW YORK -- State Police have charged a 71-year-old local man with animal cruelty after a report of several undernourished horses on land he owns on State Route 4.
State Police in Granville said they investigated the complaint and found two horses, which were severely undernourished and in need of immediate medical care.
The property owner, Charles W. McKinney, agreed to turn custody of the horses over to the Peaceful Acres Horse Sanctuary in Pattersonville.
“It is a good thing we got there when we did,” said Nanci Beyerl, founder and executive director of Peaceful Acres. “It was a critical situation. We got involved, because we needed to.”
Beyerl, who was at the farm Sunday, said there were nine horses there, and Peaceful Acres arranged to have two transported to the Battenkill Veterinary Hospital in Greenwich for medical treatment.
“It’s not good,” Beyerl said when asked about the condition of the horses. “The veterinary hospital expects to have them there for at least a week, because of prolonged malnourishment.”
State Police said the investigation is continuing, and Beyerl said she could not comment on the other horses, because the case was still open.
“At this time of the year, with winter coming in, we get calls and emails every day from horse owners asking us to take their horses, because they cannot provide for them, or calls like this where people see something wrong.”
McKinney has been charged in the Whitehall Town Court with two counts of cruelty to animals, failure to provide sustenance.
Beyerl said anyone who wants to help with the veterinary bills for these two horses, or any others that may need to be treated in the future, should call Peaceful Acres at 887-3178 or email her at nanci@peacefulacreshorses.com.
“We were contacted when the State Police were called, and we went up to look at the horses. The veterinarian was called, and the horses were evaluated, and the vet wanted the two moved right away.
(Post - Star - Nov 23, 2014)
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