A Farmington woman has been arrested on animal neglect charges after a Van Buren County Sheriff’s deputy discovered several horses in poor health on a property near Farmington, including a decomposed horse carcass, according to a press release and court documents from the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office.
Nicole L. Bennett, 49, of Farmington has been charged with Livestock Neglect, a Serious Misdemeanor, and Failure to Dispose of a Dead Animal, a Simple Misdemeanor.
On September 4th, a deputy responded to a report of livestock neglect at a property on Hawk Drive near Farmington after the property owner reported that he had allowed Bennett to keep her horses on his property but believed she was neglecting them as they were beginning to become thin. Upon arrival, the deputy found nine horses on the property. Multiple horses were underweight, with two in extremely poor condition — malnourished and severely underweight. There was no fresh hay or supplemental feed available, and all of the pasture ground had been eaten down to bare dirt, leaving insufficient grazing for nine horses. All nine horses were also found to have burs and matting in their manes and tails, ticks, and mud on their lower limbs.
The sheriff’s office contacted the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to have the state veterinarian perform a health assessment on all nine horses. Their findings confirmed that all nine horses were being neglected due to a lack of food, care, and veterinary attention. Three of the nine horses were found to be in such extreme poor health that they required immediate rescue.
On September 5th, a search warrant was executed with the assistance of the State Veterinarian’s Office and the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. The three most critically affected horses were seized and transported to the Large Animal Hospital at Iowa State University in Ames. The remaining horses were subsequently moved to another property by the owner.
The deputy also discovered a dead horse that had been pushed into a drainage ditch using what appeared to be a tractor, with tractor tire tracks leading to and from the ditch. The horse had been dead for an extended period and had active maggots on it. The horse had not been buried, burned, cooked, or turned over to a licensed rendering company as required by law.
Bennett was arrested on September 11th at approximately 9:30 p.m. on warrants charging her with Livestock Neglect, a Serious Misdemeanor, and Failure to Dispose of a Dead Animal, a Simple Misdemeanor. She has since posted a $500 cash only bond on the livestock neglect charge and a $250 cash only bond on the failure to dispose charge. An initial appearance is scheduled for September 24th on both charges.
Edited to include additional information.
