NEWS & VIEWS continued 34 Criminal Neglect Charges Filed Against Arabian Breeder
On Friday, June 18, 2011, 34 counts of crimi- nal neglect were fi led against Marsha Parkin- son of Canterbury Farms. In April, authorities euthanized six and im- pounded 140 malnourished Polish Arabians at the Centreville, Maryland breeding farm. On May 25, a replevin hearing was held, at
which Parkinson petitioned the court to have the horses returned to her, arguing that the county had unlawfully impounded the horses. Testi- fying on behalf of the State were Dave Mac- Glashan, director of Animal Services, and Dr. Michael Forney of Chestertown. Judge Douglas H. Everngam denied Parkinson’s request. According to Queen Anne’s State’s Attorney
Lance Richardson, the state then attempted to work with Parkinson to have her voluntarily relin- quish ownership of the horses. Parkinson refused, and the state proceeded to fi le criminal charges. Each count is a misdemeanor which would
carry, if convicted, a maximum of 90 days in jail. If convicted on all 34 counts, Parkinson could face 3,060 days in jail, or 8.5 years (unless the judge decided to allow the sentences to be served concurrently). Richardson plans to fi le three more charges, with up to 33 counts of neglect in each charging document, until all neglected horses have been covered. Richardson estimates that Parkinson could eventually have as many as 134 counts of misdemeanor neglect fi led against her. When asked why felony charges were not
fi led, Richardson explained that such charges were not appropriate as the state does not be- lieve that Parkinson intended to be cruel to the horses, which is the prerequisite for felony cruelty charges. T e misdemeanor charges are for neglect, for failing to provide adequate food and veterinary care as defi ned by Maryland’s minimum standards of care law (see equiery. com for a link to and interpretation of this law). T e trial date will automatically be set, accord- ing to Richardson, usually about 45 to 60 days after charges are fi led. However, this could end up being an unusual case and the trial could be later. (According to the Baltimore Sun, the trial has been scheduled for July 27, 2011.) Parkin- son can enter a plea prior to the trial date or wait for the trial to plead. Meanwhile, Days End Horse Rescue, which is
www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580
overseeing the management of the horses after the impoundment and pending the resolution of the trial, has been bombarded by requests to adopt the horses. However, the horses are not available for adoption until ownership of the horses is determined. Parkinson has indicated that she wants the horses back, so unless she voluntarily relinquishes ownership, the criminal charges must fi rst be resolved. If and when Par- kinson is found or pleads guilty of neglect (and remember, in the United States, a defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty), then
the state can proceed with attempting to sever ownership. T ere have been cases of horse own- ers being convicted of neglect, but under certain conditions being allowed to reclaim their horses. For background on this story, please visit the
archives for
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at the end of News & Views.
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print edition of T e Equiery for more on this ongoing story. To contribute your thoughts or comments, please do so on the blog at
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T e Equiery has received many comments from our readers who have seen video or photos of the Canterbury Arabians on TV or in the general press, and have told us that they did not understand why the horses were seized, as they didn’t look “that bad.” As a consequence, T e Equiery sought verifi cation that more accurately refl ected what the supervising vet (Dr. Mi- chael Forney) and the director of Animal Services for Queen Anne’s County (Dave MacGlashan) actually witnessed and what impelled the state to authorize impoundment of all the horses. T ese photos were taken at Canterbury Farm on April 15 by Days End Farm to be submitted to the state to support the re- quest for the impoundment. T e Equiery is uncom- fortable publishing these photographs, but did so at the request of some of our readers.
Photo above: A horse being examined on April 15 as authorities grapple with whether or not to impound the herd. Photo on right: A malnour- ished horse napping in a fi eld.
Convicted of Cruelty, Baltimore Couple Wins Appeal, Will Pay No Restitution
In the spring of 2009, Baltimore County animal control was alerted to a situation of a living horse who had been under a tarp for fi ve days (according to reports). Upon investigation, a gray mare named Calypso, at 400–500 pounds, was found to be too deteriorated to be rehabilitated and was euthanized. While there, offi cials also found two underweight Arabians, so they re- turned with a warrant from the state and impounded the horses, and the owners, Hilton (an attorney) and Donna Silvers, were prosecuted for cruelty and neglect for all three horses. Sometime in the course of the negotiations, the neglect charges for the two still living horses were
dropped, and the Silvers were found guilty of neglecting Calypso and, in the summer of 2010, were sentenced to 84 days in jail (with an ample amount of that time suspended). In the process, the court also ordered that the couple pay $16,781 for the care of the two impounded horses. Well, here is where the technicality apparently comes in, at least according to the Maryland
Court of Appeals. On Monday, June 20, 2011, the high court ruled that the state could not order the couple to pay restitution for the care of two neglected horses when the state did not charge the couple with neglect of said horses. Remember, those charges were dropped, and the state pursued only one criminal neglect charge for the horse that had to be euthanized. T e court did, however, affi rm the guilty of cruel neglect conviction against the Silvers. For those legal geeks who may fi nd this interesting, the Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center Inc. is protesting the decision of the courts; for more details. To check out Steve Lash’s article in T e Daily Record, visit
equiery.com/blog for the link.
JULY 2011 | THE EQUIERY | 9
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