On October 22, 2005, a cruelty investigation into Freedom Farm was conducted on Oct. 22. Township Animal Control Officer Mary Klink said seven thoroughbred horses at the farm were emaciated and near terminal starvation.
A Bridgeton woman pleaded guilty in municipal court on Nov. 10 for failing to provide proper food for three horses kept at a township farm.
Judge Bonnie Goldman fined Denise Blauth $1,000 and $500 in restitution to the New Jersey Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) for the horses� care.
Blauth owned eight horses at the Route 537 farm, known as Freedom Farm. The horses that she kept at the farm included the one that township officials had to take care of after it died last month. The mare�s carcass rotted on the property for 10 days before the township paid $350 for a removal service. NJSPCA officer Stuart Goldman, of no relation to the judge, said five of Blauth�s horses have been forfeited to the NJSPCA. Blauth will take two of the horses to her 15- acre farm in Cumberland County, where she will fall subject to random NJSPCA inspections. Dr. Barbara Delaney, of Freehold, examined the five horses.
Stuart Goldman said, �It took months for the horses to get in that condition. Fortunately, we were called in before they starved to death.� He said that other horses on the farm, not owned by Blauth, looked fine. Freedom Farm�s owner, Karen Peterson, was not charged with neglect and did not appear at the court hearing. The judge told Blauth that if money is an issue, she shouldn�t own horses. �Horses are expensive,� Goldman said. �If you don�t have the wherewithal to care for animals, feeding, vetting, boarding, maybe it is not the thing for you to be doing.�
Stuart Goldman said investigators found a broodmare dead in a field. He said the broodmare had apparently not been starved, but, he said, the carcass could have been bloated, masking starvation. Goldman also said the issue of the horses� care boils down to money problems. She said Peterson sent a bill for $10,728 to Blauth for unpaid horse boarding costs. Blauth �rough-boarded� at Freedom Farm, meaning she was responsible for providing food and care for the horses.
Blauth said she owed Peterson $1,000 a year ago. She said she wanted to take her horses off Peterson�s property, but Peterson would not allow the horses to leave until the bill was paid.
Blauth said she takes responsibility for the horses� condition, but that the matter is the farm�s fault. She said she lives two hours away from Freedom Farm.
Blauth alleged that Peterson put the horses in paddocks without a shelter. She also claimed that Peterson put all of the horses together, regardless of age or sex, in one field. She said some of her fillies may be pregnant.
Peterson did not respond to phone calls from the Examiner. In an e-mail, she said she would be out of town until later this month. The judge said there was no evidence that Peterson applied for a stableman�s lien in the financial dispute regarding the horses.
State statute 2A:44-52, for sale of retained property and disposition of proceeds reads �Property retained by the proprietor under this article shall be sold at public auction after the expiration of 30 days from the date of such retention.�
Any proceeds from the sale would go toward the debt payment, and any balance after that would go to the owner of the property, according to the statute. �The balance, if not claimed by the owner within 60 days after sale,� the statute states, �shall be paid to the municipality in which the stable is situated, for the support of the poor.� Stuart Goldman said Peterson was not charged because the horses� owner is ultimately responsible. �There was a lot of �she said/she said,� � Goldman said.
Goldman advised that farm owners should make arrangements for animals in a bad board bill situation if they do not want to assume the burden for their care. �Appropriate action was not taken in this case,� Goldman said.
Blauth surrendered a yearling filly named Little G, a 24-year-old gelding named Reliable Jeff, a 2-year-old unnamed colt, a 2-year-old unnamed filly and a yearling colt named Boo Boo to the NJSPCA.
Goldman said the horses will be rehabilitated and adopted into new homes early next year. He said an adopter will not be able to race or breed the horses. To care for the horses, Rick�s Saddle Shop, of Cream Ridge, donated 5 tons of feed for the horses, according to Klink.
Anyone interested in adopting the horses can call Klink at (609) 259-7501. References« Back to Search Results Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges. For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.
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