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U]From the Boston Gloce, Boston, MA[/U]
Horse breeder convicted of animal cruelty
By Christine Wallgren, Globe Correspondent | April 4, 2007
PLYMPTON -- After a week long trial and a day of deliberation, a Wareham District Court jury found a local horse breeder guilty yesterday of 45 counts of animal cruelty for not providing her horses with adequate food, water, and medical care.
Judge Thomas Barrett ordered Patricia Renee Pina , 47, jailed until sentencing on May 3, saying she "earned a period of incarceration."
Pina, owner of the Aces Wild Farm and Ranch , was found not guilty of charges she failed to provide the horses with a sanitary environment. And Barrett, at one point in the trial, set aside a series of charges relating to Pina's treatment of her sheep, saying there was insufficient evidence .
Pina could be sentenced to up to one year in jail for each of the counts for which she was found guilty. The charge of animal cruelty was a misdemeanor when the counts were filed against Pina in 2004, so she will be sentenced accordingly. It has since been upgraded to a felony .
"I think it will be a combination of jail time and probation," predicted Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz . "And obviously we'll be asking that she not be allowed to own animals."
The investigation into Pina's farm began in October 2004, when she contacted state authorities after five of her horses died in the span of a week. Pina believed the animals were sick with a neurological disease, such as Eastern equine encephalitis, or had been poisoned by neighbors, who often complained about her operation.
Animal welfare authorities entered Pina's property on Parsonage Road with a search warrant on Nov. 3, 2004 and found 28 bone-thin horses being kept in stalls half the required size. A flock of 33 sheep also showed signs of neglect. The authorities took the animals from Pina to Brockton Fairgrounds, where they were examined by state veterinarians. Two of the horses subsequently died.
Several veterinarians testified on the condition of the animals during the trial.
"I think justice has been served," said Peter Gollub , law enforcement director of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, after the verdict.
His agency had initially lodged 112 criminal complaints against Pina, for allegedly starving her horses and sheep and not providing sanitary living conditions. Pina pleaded not guilty.
Pina contended that all her difficulties managing the Aces Wild farm were caused by Plympton town officials. She said she was forced to crowd as many as 30 horses into undersized, makeshift stalls in a single barn because the town had refused her a permit to build additional facilities. She also battled the town in court for more than two years over trailers she put on her property to house hired help.
Her animals were neglected, she said, because she had been unable to hire workers to help on the farm, as she battled officials.
Gollub said the animals are in the custody of the MSPCA. "What happens to them now remains to be seen," Gollub said. "It will be up to the judge to decide."
Christine Wallgren can be reached at CLWallgren@aol.com.
Horse breeder convicted of animal cruelty
By Christine Wallgren, Globe Correspondent | April 4, 2007
PLYMPTON -- After a week long trial and a day of deliberation, a Wareham District Court jury found a local horse breeder guilty yesterday of 45 counts of animal cruelty for not providing her horses with adequate food, water, and medical care.
Judge Thomas Barrett ordered Patricia Renee Pina , 47, jailed until sentencing on May 3, saying she "earned a period of incarceration."
Pina, owner of the Aces Wild Farm and Ranch , was found not guilty of charges she failed to provide the horses with a sanitary environment. And Barrett, at one point in the trial, set aside a series of charges relating to Pina's treatment of her sheep, saying there was insufficient evidence .
Pina could be sentenced to up to one year in jail for each of the counts for which she was found guilty. The charge of animal cruelty was a misdemeanor when the counts were filed against Pina in 2004, so she will be sentenced accordingly. It has since been upgraded to a felony .
"I think it will be a combination of jail time and probation," predicted Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz . "And obviously we'll be asking that she not be allowed to own animals."
The investigation into Pina's farm began in October 2004, when she contacted state authorities after five of her horses died in the span of a week. Pina believed the animals were sick with a neurological disease, such as Eastern equine encephalitis, or had been poisoned by neighbors, who often complained about her operation.
Animal welfare authorities entered Pina's property on Parsonage Road with a search warrant on Nov. 3, 2004 and found 28 bone-thin horses being kept in stalls half the required size. A flock of 33 sheep also showed signs of neglect. The authorities took the animals from Pina to Brockton Fairgrounds, where they were examined by state veterinarians. Two of the horses subsequently died.
Several veterinarians testified on the condition of the animals during the trial.
"I think justice has been served," said Peter Gollub , law enforcement director of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, after the verdict.
His agency had initially lodged 112 criminal complaints against Pina, for allegedly starving her horses and sheep and not providing sanitary living conditions. Pina pleaded not guilty.
Pina contended that all her difficulties managing the Aces Wild farm were caused by Plympton town officials. She said she was forced to crowd as many as 30 horses into undersized, makeshift stalls in a single barn because the town had refused her a permit to build additional facilities. She also battled the town in court for more than two years over trailers she put on her property to house hired help.
Her animals were neglected, she said, because she had been unable to hire workers to help on the farm, as she battled officials.
Gollub said the animals are in the custody of the MSPCA. "What happens to them now remains to be seen," Gollub said. "It will be up to the judge to decide."
Christine Wallgren can be reached at CLWallgren@aol.com.
