The owner of a Creswell horse training facility, where 61 horses were seized last year, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to 11 counts of Animal Neglect.
In October, the Lane County Sheriff’s office seized 61 horses from Gwenyth Davies’ property, where the office said in a release they found 3 deceased horses.
The living horses on the property were found to be in varying conditions of health, and 3 of the horses have died since the seizure due to poor health conditions.
Most of the seized horses have since been returned to their owners, according to the Lane County Sheriff’s Office.
Davies pled guilty to all 11 misdemeanor charges for Animal Neglect in the second degree. She’ll face 5 years’ probation and will only be allowed to own 4 horses, and can no longer board or care for other horses.
Deputy Attorney Jacob Kamins told KLCC that allowing Davies to own 4 horses was part of a deal to ensure the horses she owned were not neglected.
“In the state of Oregon there is a statutory prohibition on the possession on certain kinds of animals when people are convicted of crimes of this type,” said Kamins, the prosecutor in the case.
“However that statutory prohibition has an exception built in, that exception is for people who are commercial livestock operators who get a conviction for animal neglect for abuse against livestock,” Kamins adds Davies would potentially fall into this exception if her case had gone to trial.
Davies has agreed to heavy monitoring of any horses she owns in the future. This includes sending the Lane County Animal Services and the Oregon Humane Society monthly unaltered photos of the horses.
She must also pay close to $50,000 in restitution to the Oregon Humane Society, Lane County, and Sound Equine Options, a boarding facility in Portland.
The Lane County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that 4 horses are being held pending the resolution of criminal charges against their owners, Raina and Erica Ott, who lived at Davies’ property.
Copyright KLCC 2020
