OSPCA returns to contentious Grey County horse farm

Ellie Ross speaks with CTV Kitchener on Thursday, March 7, 2013. (CTV Kitchener)

Officers from the Ontario SPCA returned to a controversial Grey County farm Thursday.

That visit was in response to a Wednesday night CTV report showing horses at the farm in poor condition. A number have died over the past few years.

Brad Dewer of the OSPCA says action has been taken.

“Orders were written on the property. They are still outstanding orders,” he says.

“The owner still has time to meet the compliance required. Certainly part of the requirement was to have a veterinarian on site.”

Ellie Ross, a Waterloo Region resident and former OSPCA employee, says the conditions at the farm are unacceptable.

Ross says she rescued a number of horses from the same farm two years ago, and wonders how an OSPCA investigation last month didn’t result in stronger action.

“If they were there on Feb. 13 and you look at the condition of the horses that we recorded yesterday, there is no way that those horses got in that condition in two weeks,” she tells CTV.

“They need water, they need hay, they need help.”

There are more than 25 horses on the farm, all in poor condition. Their owner, Lynda Smith, admits she’s struggling to care for them, but says she loves the horses and is doing her best to take care of them.

Feeling unsatisfied with responses from the OPP and OPSCA, Ross reported the farm to the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday.

The ministry offered to send a truckload of hay, but it’s not clear if the delivery ever took place.

Dewer won’t say exactly how long Smith has to comply with the orders.

“The timelines that are given are going to be based on ensuring that the animal does not suffer,” he says.

“It’s to get it the help it needs, the medical assistance it needs, as quick as possible.”