By Linda Williams | The Willits News
(Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a series on horse neglect in Mendocino County. Read Part 1 here:
California is considered by animal activists to have one of the more progressive legal frameworks for prosecuting animal cruelty and neglect in the United States. Despite having strict laws on the books, local animal activists have not found the law in Mendocino County to be much of an ally in preventing animal cruelty.
Since his election in 2010, Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster told TWN he has had only two cases of horse neglect forwarded to his office. In both cases Eyster found the reports which reached his office did not have enough evidence presented to result in a conviction, and no criminal charges were filed.
One of the two cases rejected for prosecution concerned a trio of Laytonville horses earlier this year. The three emaciated horses were surrendered by their owner to animal control after substantial public outcry. Eyster cited the surrender of the horses by the owner and an inconclusive veterinarian report as the basis for his rejection of the case. The three horses, which were each hundreds of pounds underweight when surrendered to a rescue facility, have all regained most of their weight after receiving sufficient feed and been adopted by new owners.
In the recent case involving a herd of 26 miniature horses, case files were never forwarded to the district attorney’s office to consider criminal prosecution.
If you’d like to discuss equine law, contact Adam Trenk, director of RLG Equine Law Department, atrenk@roselawgroup.com
