NEWS &VIEWS 140 Polish Arabians Impounded; 6 Euthanized
On April 29, 2011, what is currently the un- disputed largest seizure of horses in Maryland occurred in Queen Anne’s County when Days End Farm Horse Rescue, at the behest of the county’s State’s Attorney, spearheaded the im- poundment of a herd of over 140 Polish Arabi- ans from Canterbury Farms in Centreville. T is is a complicated case of animal neglect,
possibly criminal (felony) neglect, and we will follow the story from all angles in both the print edition of T e Equiery and on equi-
ery.com. To stay updated, subscribe (it’s free) to
equiery.com/blog.
A Borderline Case of Neglect
According to Dave Mac- Glashan, Director of Ani- mal Services for Queen Anne’s County,
Canter-
“Just because he’s skinny doesn’t mean he’s neglected!”
Longtime horsemen and horsewomen and
bury Farms and owner Marsha Parkinson came onto the radar of Animal Services in the summer of 2010 after a local resident fi led a complaint express- ing concern about under- weight horses. An inspec- tion that summer showed that, while the herd of Arabians was on the lean side with quite a few elderly horses, there appeared to be suffi - cient food and water (see Maryland Minimum Standards of Care for Equine, sidebar). Animal Services considered the situation to be border- line, worthy of monitoring but not worthy of intervention. (See
equiery.com for how com- plaints of neglect and abuse are investigated in Maryland; visit
equiery.com/archives and search under “State & County”). It was during a follow-up inspection on March
18, 2011 that Animal Services discovered that the situation had turned from borderline to critical, requiring a full-scale investigation and intervention. “We knew this was big, too big for us,” explained MacGlashan, “and we had worked with Days End [Horse Rescue Farm] before, so we asked both Days End Farm and the Humane Society of the United States if they could help us.”
Most of the impounded horses, like the one shown here upon its arrival at Para- dise Stables in Mt. Airy on April 29, 2011, were considered malnourished and ne- glected, but not requiring critical intensive care. Most of the herd were found to have parasites as well as dental and farrier problems. Yearlings and two year-olds were discovered to still be wearing wean- ling halters, around which their faces had grown, necessitating surgical removal.
vets around the state will attest to the phenom- enon of older horses weathering the winter just fi ne, but come spring they suddenly drop an alarming amount of weight. Several vets con- fi rmed that they euthanize more older horses in early spring than any other time of the year. For whatever reason, this par- ticular March seemed really bad; older hors- es that looked remarkably hale and hearty in February sud- denly looked like neglect cas- es in March.
MacGlashan explained that it was not just the presence of skinny horses that elevated the situation, authorities now
found critically ill horses. At this point, the owner admitted to MacGlashan that she was overwhelmed.
Situation Critical On April 15, MacGlashan and others from
Queen Anne’s County Animal Services (QA- CAS), HSUS and Days End, along with vet- erinarian Michael Forney, with the permission of owner Marsha Parkinson, conducted a thor- ough site inspection, visiting every pasture, tak- ing fecal samples, and examining those horses that could be caught. Several elderly horses and one approximately
six-year-old horse were considered to be critical and not candidates for rehabilitation, and own- er Marsha Parkinson indicated to MacGlashan that she wanted to euthanize them, but simply could not aff ord it. With Parkinsons’ approval, six horses were euthanized (one on April 15, the rest a few days later).
See
equiery.com/archives for the following related articles:
You Can Use Seven
• To Save A Horse: How horses are rescued (by Laurel Scott Duncan)
• Maryland Law: What are the minimum standarsdf of care?
horses were also identified as being critical but able to be rehabili- tated. Ac-
cording to MacGlashan, Parkinson voluntarily surrendered custody and they were removed by Days End from her property that day and were taken to Days End’s satellite facility in Hag- erstown. On April 15, according to MacGlashan, Par- kinson was given a compliance order listing 14 animal husbandry practices, with detailed instructions, that needed to be implemented within thirty days. Instructions involved far- riery, dental, and veterinary care, salt licks, cleaning of water troughs, supply of forage and more, with specifi c instructions for paperwork and tracking. At this time, the State’s Attorney for Queen Anne’s County, Lance Richardson, was apprised of the situation. After two weeks, authorities believed that
Parkinson was not attempting to comply with the order and that the critical condition of the animals warranted immediate impoundment. With the approval of the State’s Attorney’s offi ce, arrangements were made by Days End Farm to relocate some of the horses on April 29. It was still unclear, at this point, precisely how many horses were on the property and if they were all going to be impounded.
The Impoundment
On April 29, 2011, employees and volunteers for Days End and HSUS found a combination of older, obviously trained horses and younger feral and semi-feral horses, almost all in some level of malnourishment. As it was a breeding farm, there were plenty of stallions and colts. Eventually, all were rounded up, loaded onto horse trailers and relocated to a network of hastily assembled satellite facilities in Central Maryland, including Paradise Stables in Mt. Airy, which ended up accepting 70 horses. Ultimately, organizers believe that they were able to locate and remove all horses from Can- terbury Farm. Including the six that were eu-
continued...
IF YOU HAVE NEWS, VIEWS OR UPDATES TO CONTRIBUTE, PLEASE SEND THEM TO Editor at The Equiery, P.O. Box 610, Lisbon, MD 21765 • FAX: 410-489-7828 • email
editor@equiery.com.
Be sure to include your full name, phone number and address. All submissions become the property of The Equiery.
www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 JUNE 2011 | THE EQUIERY | 9
Tracy McKenna
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96