A Parkland County woman is facing animal cruelty charges after the alleged mistreatment of horses on a rural property.
On Friday, Patricia Lynn Moore, 48, was arrested and charged with three counts of permitting and/or causing unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to animals, according to RCMP.
Police launched their criminal investigation after receiving reports of starving horses on the acreage near Entwistle.
“Obviously, these allegations are disturbing in nature in what they entail, and I just would encourage anybody that — as in this case — that observes or sees anything of similar nature ensure that they report it to the authorities,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Chris Warren told Global News in a phone call from Grande Prairie, Alta.
On Dec. 9, Lauren Nagel, who is involved in the equine industry, helped removed a horse from the property, with an RCMP escort, on behalf of its owner, she told Global News on Saturday.
She said she saw many neglected and malnourished horses, calling it an “animal hoarding situation.”
She and her colleague, Brenda Belanger, said multiple horses have died.
“Very, very quickly from entering the property, there was a large number of dogs and horses,” Nagel said. “There were horses that were severely, severely malnourished that were very, very, very underweight with visible bones – you could see every single bone in that horse’s body. There were horses with obvious injuries that hadn’t been taken care of.”
This is not the first time Moore is facing charges.
In February 2010, three horses were found dead and another 16 were seized by the SPCA. Moore was charged under the Animal Protection Act and was convicted of allowing an animal to be in distress as well as failing to provide adequate food and water. Moore was fined $1500 and was prohibited from owning more than two horses for five years.
Moore was also the focus of a Global News investigation in 2009. She faced several charges in connection to a dog breeding operation near Edson.
Moore was released from custody following a bail hearing.
She is set to appear in Evansburg Provincial Court on Jan. 14.