Sep. 23—A woman has been arrested on animal cruelty charges in connection with a case of animal neglect in Gilbertsville.
Neglected animals were seized by the Susquehanna SPCA from Village Farms in Gilbertsville on Friday, Sept. 16.
The woman, whose name was not released by the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office at press time, was arrested on Sept. 22 and will be arraigned in court on Oct. 13, according to Stacey Haynes, SQSPCA executive director. Sheriff Richard Devlin confirmed the arrest.
Haynes said the woman has no interest in surrendering or rehabilitating the animals.
“It is her choice whether she wants to keep the animals, but as of now she has shown no interest in surrendering them. As the SPCA we can request a security posting for 30 days to make sure the animals are getting taken care of,” Haynes said.
The animals will be provided care until the arraignment date on Oct. 13.
Around 17 horses, two pigs, a llama, a donkey and a cat were taken from the farm, Investigator Anthony Grimes said on Sept. 16.
“We filed a search warrant for the seizing of multiple animals due to an ongoing investigation concerning the health and well being of the animals,” Grimes said.
The animals on the property were reported to be suffering from malnutrition and lack of care. A dead llama was also reported on the property, which led to the investigation of Village Farms, Grimes said.
While the case makes its way through the court, the animals are having several issues addressed.
“Staff is giving medication to the animals twice a day as well as proper diets if they need it. We seized pot belly pigs that were so obese they couldn’t open their eyes, so we put them on a strict diet,” Haynes said.
The horses are also getting treated for eye issues and are on medication, according to Haynes.
Alexis Ochi, staff writer, can be reached at aochi@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7213.