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 Lance Martin | daily herald One of the four horses found malnourished and poorly cared for was loaded into a horse trailer and provided hay by members of U.S. Equine Rescue League in Hollister Friday. |
Halifax County Animal Control Officer Robert Richardson said Friday's arrest of Michael L. Lynch was the result of an investigation that began in 2006.
The Halifax County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Equine Rescue League assisted in serving the search warrant at Lynch's property off L&R Lane. Animal Control seized four horses and turned them over to USERL for veterinary care.
The horses were living in manure and urine, said Amy Woodard, regional director of the Northeastern North Carolina region of the rescue league. There was a deer carcass in the wooded area where the animals were kept and their only shelter was a three-sided structure with no roof and trash in it.
“One was having to lay down so long and couldn't get up that (it) used the bathroom laying down,” Woodard said. That the horse was lying down for a long period of time could be a sign of a lack of nourishment or painful feet.
A step ladder blocked the doorway and one of the horses, a male, had upwardly curved front hooves, a condition caused by a lack of or no farrier care.
The condition of the horses, which equine experts rate from a 1- to 9-point system, with one being the worst and nine being the best, ranged from a 1 or less for one male, to a 2 for two of the animals and a 4 for the youngest, Woodard said.
The one in the worst condition was caked in manure and appeared listless in a trailer. It did eat some straw given to him by league member Buck McCauley.
Members of USERL said they were hopeful the horse in the worst condition would survive and called his condition guarded. The horses were to be transported from the Halifax County Animal Shelter by league members for immediate veterinary care, Woodard said.
From there, they will begin the long rehabilitation process, members said. “We will keep them until the court says otherwise,” Woodard said. “If they are awarded to Halifax County, we will ask to keep them and adopt them out.”
Friday's case marked the 198th the league has investigated in a year's time and is the 90th in North Carolina, members said.
Investigation was based on private citizen complaints to Animal Control and to the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Richardson said Lynch was originally charged in 2004 with dog fighting after officers seized two treadmills fitted to train and condition dogs. They found a dog-fighting ring on the premises and tools used to pry the animals apart.
The officers seized fight and training records and printed information from the Internet on how to care for wounded animals and how to train them. They also found lineage records and discovered animal carcasses throughout the yard.
Richardson said Lynch pled to animal cruelty.
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