Farmed animal neglect - over 20 seized
Watsonville, CA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Jun 26, 2008
County: Santa Cruz
Disposition: Alleged
Abuser names unreleased
Santa Cruz County Animal Services on Thursday confiscated dozens of malnourished animals from a Watsonville property, and is conducting an investigation on the animals’ owner, whom authorities say has had similar run-ins in the past.
Animal services initially responded to a call Friday afternoon from a neighbor saying there were animals on a Hughes Road property that appeared to be malnourished. Officers responding to the call found a dead cow and several sick animals.
The owner was given 48 hours to respond to the complaint, and when they hadn’t, animal control officers removed six horses, eight chickens and nine goats.
The animals that were removed from the property were severely malnourished with rotted hooves and various injuries. A few had infected eyes.
Twelve horses, six cows, one miniature horse, one burro, and 29 goats were left on the property, but the owner was told to have a veterinarian look at them. Officers said that the peacocks, chickens and dogs that were on the property appeared to be well-taken care of.
Animal Control officers will be checking back to ensure veterinary care is provided to the animals left on scene. If veterinary care is not provided, all remaining animals will be removed. The owner was not on the scene, but could be facing numerous neglect charges.
It’s not the first time the people living on the property have been in trouble. In addition to having dogs confiscated for similar reasons, the owners have also been visited by the Santa Cruz County sheriff, the county planning department, Environmental Health and the Watsonville Fire Department, according to Todd Stosuy, supervising animal control manager for Santa Cruz County Animal Services.
“Those responsible for neglecting these animals will face criminal charges and have their day in court,” he said. “People need to realize if you take on the responsibility of having animals, you must take care of them.”
“I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and I’ve never seen a horse as bad as this one,” he said. “This horse will have health issues for the rest of its life.”
Stosuy said that SCCAS has noticed a jump in malnourished livestock animals, most likely because of the skyrocketing cost of animal feed. He added that owners unable to feed their animals should contact Santa Cruz County Animal Services. References« CA State Animal Cruelty Map
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