Washington County Sessions Judge John Kiener Tuesday ordered that animal control take custody of all horses owned by a Limestone man after one of its officers said they were in poor condition.
Norman Smith, 34, 750 Providence Road, is charged with animal cruelty. Three other horses were already dead when animal control officers and a veterinarian visited the property, and another had to be euthanized due to it's condition.
Officer Randy Buchanan testified that the remaining horses had a one-half inch to 2 inch showing of the backbone. He said some of the horses were covered in feces and had feces in their manes.
Dr. Robert Monin, who examined some of the animals, said in a letter that their condition was a one or two on a scale of one to ten, with one being the worst score.
At this point they have taken custody of 17 horses that are in desperate need of vet care and hay. The horses will have to be under the care of a veterinarian for quite a while due to their very poor condition.
(For reference purporses, TN State Law 39-14-202 Cruelty to animals states..." the court making the sentencing determination for a person convicted under this section shall order the person convicted to surrender custody and forfeit the animal or animals whose treatment was the basis of the conviction." It does not permit any of the abused animals to be returned to the abuser. ) Case UpdatesSmith reached agreement Tuesday with prosecutors to reclaim four of the 18 horses animal control officers have held after a veterinarian found some of them in poor condition and others dead on his land. Smith pleaded guilty in Washington County Sessions Court to animal cruelty. He was placed on probation for a year, and animal control officers will supervise him and keep an eye on the four horses. If he successfully completes his probation, the charge will be expunged.
Judge Robert Lincoln, who presided over the plea, wondered why Gwinn was not seeking jail time. "Our discussion with animal control is there has been no malicious acts toward the horses," she said. "We don't typically seek jail time on first offense assaults. I'm not going to do it on this case, either."
See the Update posted on Apr 30, 2003 - 6:21AM |
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