On December 11th, SPCA seized 16 horses with extremely low body conditions from a farm in Armstrong. Now charges have been approved against 69-year-old Gary Roberts under the Criminal Code.
For animal cruelty, Roberts has been charged with causing unnecessary pain/suffering to an animal and failing to provide necessaries for an animal. He has also been charged with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.
Though 16 horses were seized on December 11th, BC SPCA senior animal protection officer Kathy Woodward said that there were about 117 horses on the property in total. The ones who were left on the farm were in better condition, but Woodward said at the time that the SPCA still had concerns about some of them. Now, however, Roberts will be forced to give them up.
As part of Roberts' bail conditions, he is not allowed to have custody, control of, or reside on the same property as any animal, including horses after February 17th. “The horse community are very much aware of this particular case,” said Marcie Moriarty, chief prevention and enforcement officer.
“Obviously anybody we know who was looking to potentially purchase a horse or adopt a horse, we've made aware of this particular opportunity. Hopefully they find homes that way.”
The horses who were seized on the warrant were emaciated, or abnormally thin or weak. On a scale out of 9, those that the SPCA took into custody had body condition scores ranging from 0.5 to 1.5. “A 1.5 is considered emaciated,” said Woodward. “A 0.5 doesn't even hit the scale.”
These horses required extensive care from the SPCA, but Moriarty says that they're now putting on weight and doing better.
(Kelowna Now - January 26, 2015)
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