Farmington, N.Y. — A man has been charged with several counts of animal cruelty after investigators found several malnourished horses in a barn filled with more than two feet of manure and two other horses dead and decomposing nearby.
Edward C. Perdue, 68, of 889 Crowley Road in Farmington, was charged with four misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and four misdemeanor counts of failure to provide food and water to an impounded animal, according to a news release from the Ontario County Humane Society in Canandaigua. Perdue was issued an appearance ticket to appear in Farmington Town Court at a later date.
The investigation is continuing and more charges are possible, the humane society said.
Investigators from the humane society entered the barn owned by Perdue on May 26 at the request of the Ontario County Sheriff’s Department, which had responded to another incident on the property.
Inside the barn investigators found four live horses that “appeared to be malnourished, and were lacking food and water,” the news release said.
“In addition, the horse stall they were kept in was filled with 24-30 inches of manure that they had to stand on,” according to the humane society. “The barn had a strong ammonia smell as well as that of a deceased animal. Shortly after entering the barn a full-size horse was found deceased and decomposing in its stall that again was filled with manure and its door was sealed shut by manure. Another horse believed to be a foal was found partially covered in the barn’s exercise area that was covered by a tarp. The barn’s floor was covered with manure which had plastic wood chips in it that the horses had been chewing on.”
The investigators found that the barn lacked water and electricity, the horses had no outdoor access and they were not being cared for by a veterinarian. They were also in need to attention to their hooves.
The four live horses were seized and removed from the barn, the humane society said. They are now being cared for “at a local livestock location,” the release said.
The remains of the two dead horses were sent to the Cornell Animal Diagnostic Lab for necropsies.
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.