Attorneys/Judges
| Judge(s): | Kenneth Campbell, Perry Buckner |
Images for this Case
47 malnourished hoses seized from bible camp
Cottageville, SC (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, May 5, 2009
County: Colleton
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available
Alleged: Eddy Ackerman
Case Updates: 5 update(s) available
Sheriff's deputies, animal control officers and volunteers converged on the Gift Horse Bible Camp near Cottageville Tuesday morning. It didn't take them long to find obvious signs the horses were malnourished. Ribs were sticking out of some of the animals.
The man in charge of the horses says he is not starving them. "No sir, no sir. We feed them everyday. They've been fed everyday since they've been here," said Gift Horse Bible Camp Director Eddie Ackerman.
After getting complaints that the horses looked too thin, they got a judge to sign an order allowing them to take all 46 of them. "I know they look like they've been starved to death, but they haven't been," Ackerman said. "And I have the records of oats that's fed to them to prove that, you know."
Ackerman says he's tried to give the horses hay, oats and vitamins, but they still won't eat. "If you can see a horse with an 800 pound bale of hay in this field and and he's that thin and he can't go over there and eat, then something's wrong." Investigators are trying to find out exactly what's wrong. They are leaving no stone unturned, taking blood samples and testing the horses' drinking water.
Colleton County authorities say they don't have enough room to hold all of the horses, so they will keep six. The other 40 will be sent to Charleston. Ultimately it will be up to a judge to decide who gets custody of the animals.
"This thing right here is either going to make this ministry what we have started to do or it's gonna end it," Ackerman said. "It's not up to me. It's up to God and the people that see what's going on."
A hearing has been scheduled for May 12th to decide who gets custody of the horses.
Case UpdatesThe horses seized from a Bible camp after neighbors complained they were being abused are gradually finding new homes, but another legal challenge has put adoptions on hold again.
As of Friday, 19 of the 47 horses had been adopted, Colleton County Animal Control Director Tim Lynes said.
One of the animals had to be put down, he said. He's still hoping to find homes for the 27 remaining animals.
"We still need help, both with adoption and with feeding them," Lynes said.
He was preparing to move some of the stallions from the shelter to a ranch for gelding Friday when he got a notice that Eddy Ackerman, who runs the Bible camp, had filed another legal challenge. A judge will hear arguments Tuesday morning. Adoptions are on hold again until after the hearing.
"We will still continue to take applications," Lynes said. "I hope this is resolved Tuesday."
Animal control officers took the horses -- along with a dozen dogs and some chickens -- on May 5 from Gift Horse Bible Camp near Cottageville after reports they were being neglected and abused. Ackerman argued that some of the horses weren't eating because they were sick but that none was abused or neglected.
Magistrate Kenneth Campbell ruled in favor of the county in June. Ackerman appealed, and Circuit Judge Perry Buckner upheld Campbell's ruling.
Ackerman also faces a jury trial on 43 charges of animal cruelty. The maximum penalty for each offense is $500 and 60 days in jail. A date for that trial has not yet been set.
The county filed the animal cruelty charges to try to recoup some of the money spent nursing the horses back to health and feeding them, Lynes said. The county has spent more than $50,000 taking care of the horses.
The county has been caring for 14 stallions at the shelter on Poor Farm Road. The rest of the horses have been at J Bar Farms in Meggett, which is affiliated with the Livestock Equine Awareness and Rescue Network. The county has been paying all the bills, Lynes said.
People wanting to adopt horses have to demonstrate they are able to take care of them and pass a background check, Lynes said. | Source: Post and Courier - Nov 2, 2009
Update posted on Nov 2, 2009 - 12:22AM |
A herd of horses seized from a Colleton County Bible camp are still up for adoption after another round in court Tuesday.
Colleton County Magistrate John McLeod rejected more appeals from the former owner to get the 47 horses back.
Animal-control officers took the horses May 5 from Gift Horse Bible Camp near Cottageville after reports they were being neglected and abused.
Eddy Ackerman, who runs the camp, argued that some of the horses weren't eating because they were sick, but none was abused or neglected.
Ackerman is not giving up. He filed an appeal with the S.C. Supreme Court on Monday.
The custody battle is over as far as Animal Control Director Tim Lynes is concerned. Lynes said he does not expect the Supreme Court even to hear Ackerman's appeal, especially since he's representing himself.
Meanwhile, Lynes is taking applications from people who want to adopt a horse. Adoption would cost about $150, Lynes said. The new owner must also pass a background check and demonstrate he or she has the space and money to take care of the animal.
Lynes is taking care of 14 stallions at the animal shelter on Poor Farm Road. The rest of the horses are at the Livestock Equine Awareness and Rescue Network's J Bar Farms ranch in Meggett.
The county has spent more than $60,000 so far nursing the horses back to health and feeding them, Lynes said. He said he had to get involved when he saw the condition of the horses.
"I don't regret it," he said.
The county has received about $5,000 in donations to care for the horses but could use more help, Lynes said.
Lynes hopes to recoup some of the cost in a criminal trial on 43 charges of animal cruelty. The maximum penalty for each offense is $500 and 60 days in jail.
The jury trial is set for the last week of October, Lynes said. | Source: Post and Courier - Sept 16, 2009
Update posted on Nov 2, 2009 - 12:22AM |
Officials begin the task of finding homes for horses seized in a Colleton County animal cruelty case.
A judge has turned down an appeal from the owner of over 40 horses that officials ruled were being mistreated. Eddy Ackerman, who had the horses at a camp near the Colleton County town of Cottageville, made the appeal. The ruling paves the way for Colleton County to work toward finding homes for the horses.
On May 5, officers working on behalf of Colleton County Animal Control seized a dozen dogs, and a number of chickens, along with the horses from the Gift Horse Bible Camp after reports that the animals were suffering from neglect. Ackerman says some of the horses were not eating because they were sick, not because they were abused. Ackerman has asked that the charges of animal cruelty be dismissed. | Source: South Carolina Radio Network - Aug 12, 2009
Update posted on Nov 2, 2009 - 12:20AM |
A Bible camp owner is demanding a jury trial to fight 43 charges of animal cruelty after Colleton County animal-control officers seized horses the county said were underfed and abused.
Gift Horse Bible Camp Owner Eddy Ackerman of Cottageville appeared at a hearing this week. Magistrate John McLeod granted his request for a jury trial on the animal-cruelty charges. A date has not been set.
Ackerman also is appealing a previous ruling that the county should keep the horses.
Ackerman said the horses were skinny because they had worms that were resistant to the pills he was giving them. He said he called the county for advice and was using medicine a county veterinarian had recommended. He contends neighbors who didn't like the horses pressured county officials to find a reason to take them.
"To my way of thinking, it's absolutely ludicrous to say it's illegal to have a sick horse," Ackerman said Wednesday. "That would be like saying it's illegal for parents to have sick children."
Animal-control officers said they found moldy oats on the ground and algae-filled water in the buckets when they seized the horses May 5. Ackerman disputed the report.
The county has spent about $49,000 nursing the horses back to health and feeding them, Animal Control Director Tim Lynes said. Each horse has gained about 150 pounds under the county's care, he said.
The county has been caring for 14 horses at the shelter on Poor Farm Road. The Livestock Equine Awareness and Rescue Network is caring for the rest of them. The county has been paying all the food bills, Lynes said.
The county won't put the horses up for adoption until after Ackerman's appeal, Lynes said. The maximum penalty for each offense is $500 and 60 days in jail. He's looking for help caring for them in the meantime.
Ackerman said the animals would be fine eating grass at the camp, as they have for the last 40 years.
Previous story
Seized horses stay with county, published 05/29/09
"They were created to eat grass," Ackerman said. "They don't have to have all the other stuff that people feed them. We've got grass growing out here knee-high because the horses aren't out here to eat it."
He said he's fighting to get the horses back because he uses them to work with boys who don't have fathers. | Source: Post and Courier - July 16, 2009
Update posted on Nov 2, 2009 - 12:19AM |
Nearly four dozen undernourished horses seized from a Colleton County Bible camp earlier this month will remain in custody of the county, a magistrate ruled Thursday.
Animal-control officers took 47 horses on May 5 from Gift Horse Bible Camp near Cottageville after receiving reports they were being neglected and abused.
Eddy Ackerman, who runs the camp, argued that some of the horses weren't eating because they were sick, but said he never neglected them.
Magistrate Kenneth Campbell disagreed and ordered all the horses to remain with the county.
Ackerman said he will fight to get his animals back because he uses them to work with boys who don't have fathers.
"This is a David and Goliath issue," he said. "I'll definitely have a lawyer next time."
Ackerman relies on donations to feed the animals. He acknowledged that the horses were thin but said they were healthy until recently, and he thought the county was coming out to help him figure out how to heal them. He said the county took his horses because complaining neighbors pressured officials.
Now, it's the county that's looking for contributions to help pay for horse feed.
The county can't put the horses up for adoption until after Ackerman's appeal, Animal Control Director Tim Lynes said. Meanwhile, he expects to spend about $18,000 on food and medical care this first month.
"It wiped out my budget," he said. "We're looking for donations."
Livestock Equine Awareness and Rescue Network founder Elizabeth Steed, who has been caring for 30 of the horses, hailed the ruling.
"We're just ecstatic," she said. "We just feel like the horses won today."
Steed said she's been feeding the horses a special diet to get their weight back up, and they were so wild she doesn't see how anyone could have ridden them.
Officials are seeing more cases of owners neglecting horses as the economy makes it harder to feed them, Lynes said.
"Right now I'm working five other cases," he said. "I think the economy has egged this on quite a bit."
No charges have been filed against Ackerman. | Source: Post and Courier - May 29, 2009
Update posted on Nov 2, 2009 - 12:18AM |
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