Attorneys/Judges
| Defense(s): | Rebecca Waxse | | Judge(s): | James Dehn |
Horse and donkey neglect
Stanchfield, MN (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Oct 2, 2007
County: Isanti
Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Acquitted
Person of Interest: Tracy Jean Bratlie
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Animal welfare investigators followed a trail of neglected horses through three counties before finally seizing the animals Tuesday from an Isanti County farm their owner had recently bought.
The eight horses and a donkey found on the property near Stanchfield belonged to the same woman from whom officers had confiscated 15 malnourished horses on Sept. 10 at a Mora property.
Animal Humane Society officials on Wednesday would not release the owner's name until they confirm she's been charged.
Investigators haven't been able to speak with the woman, though they've left many messages, said investigator Wade Hanson.
The Arabians and the donkey seized Tuesday, which had ribs protruding through their skin, are recovering at the University of Minnesota veterinary hospital. The 15 horses seized earlier are being cared for by the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation. Hanson said the woman faces neglect charges for not giving the animals adequate food, water and shelter.
Such animal-neglect cases come monthly but always seem to worsen in the winter, he said.
Hanson learned of the animals' condition last August from a horse buyer who told investigators that the woman kept horses on her parents' property in Rush City in Chisago County. Animal investigators went there in August, where they spotted three horse and a donkey in "rough shape," he said.
By September, authorities had learned of the Mora address, and Kanabec authorities went there and seized 15 horses. They discovered, however, that five other horses had been moved.
The same day, investigators tried to seize the three horses and donkey from the Rush City location, but the woman had moved them.
Investigators searched real-estate sales records to track the woman to Stanchfield.
A Wednesday hearing was scheduled to determine if she should get the animals back.
"She didn't show up," Hanson said, "so we're still holding the horses."
Case UpdatesA case of animal neglect and mistreatment against a Stanchfield woman that has been winding its way through the justice system since 2007, was settled March 3 with a directed verdict of dismissal of all charges by Judge James Dehn.
Tracy Jean Bratlie, 39, was charged by formal complaint in February 2008 based on an investigation into the condition of numerous horses and one donkey kept on property she was believed to own in rural Stanchfield.
Nine of the horses were seized by the Minnesota Humane Society and taken to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Clinic where veterinarians judged them to be in poor condition by varying degrees.
The donkey was taken to the Hooves Animal Rescue whose opinion it was that lack of appropriate hoof care was hindering its ability to walk.
Bratlie was subsequently charged with one felony count and six gross misdemeanor counts of Overwork/ mistreat animals-cruelty as well as a misdemeanor count of Equines-proper hoof care.
The case has moved slowly through the 10th District Court system with the defense requesting multiple continuances, changes from a private attorney to one from the Public Defenders’ office, and a motion for a change of venue which was denied.
With a jury trial scheduled to start March 2, Bratlie’s public defender, Rebecca Waxse, made a surprise request that the case be heard in a court- only trial before Judge Dehn. That request was approved and the jury dismissed.
Testimony on both sides took up most of the day and at its conclusion Waxse moved for a directed verdict of dismissal based on the failure of the state to prove that Bratlie was in ownership, possession or control of the horses.
Her motion was granted by Judge Dehn March 3 and the case was concluded.
While Bratlie had been prosecuted on misdemeanor animal neglect/mistreatment charges in Kanabec County in 2008, the horses involved in the Isanti County case were not the same animals. | Source: Isanti County News - March 9, 2010
Update posted on Mar 9, 2010 - 4:50PM |
An animal abuse and neglect case that has been under investigation since October 2007 has moved into the court system with eight charges of animal neglect against a rural Stanchfield woman.
Representatives of the Isanti County Sheriff's Department, Hooves Animal Rescue and the Animal Humane Society executed a search warrant at property on 377th Ave. N.W. Oct. 2 following a tip that horses believed to be neglected in Kanabec County had been moved to property in Isanti County.
Searching for properties recently purchased in Isanti County, Sheriff's Office Investigator Lisa Lovering determined a possible address where the horses were being kept and a sheriff's deputy was advised of the vehicle being driven by the horse owner.
The information paid off and the property was soon located.
The University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center, where nine horses and one donkey were taken to its Large Animal Clinic, has a rating system to denote the condition of an animal.
A body condition of one or two denotes a horse at risk for developing a systemic illness. Under this nine-point system, a score of one denotes an animal in poor condition who is extremely emaciated.
A score of two denotes that the animal is very thin and emaciated. Three denotes thin where fat is built in spinous process, and four denotes moderately thin with a faint outline of the ribs discernible.
One of the horses, a gelding, had a body score of one; two horses were rated at two; the remaining horses were rated between 3 and 3.5 on the 9-point scale. A donkey, also seized, had an approximately three years of hoof growth and had difficulty walking.
Last week the animals' owner, Tracy Jean Bratlie, 37, of Stanchfield was charged by complaint with one count of felony animal cruelty for the gelding in the worst condition; six gross misdemeanor animal cruelty charges for the remaining horses and a misdemeanor failure to provide proper hoof care for the donkey.
She has also been charged with six misdemeanor animal mistreatment charges in Kanabec County to which she has pled not guilty. Those charges were lodged September 10, 2007. A pre-trial conference in that case was held Feb. 19. | Source: Isanti County News - Feb 20, 2008
Update posted on Feb 20, 2008 - 10:42AM |
References
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