Ontario SPCA charges man after horse falls from trailer on highway

An OPP cruiser is seen in this file photo.

PRESCOTT, Ont. -- An eastern Ontario man has been charged with animal cruelty under the Ontario SPCA Act following an incident in which a horse fell out of a moving livestock trailer on Highway 401.

The trailer was being towed on the highway just east of Prescott, Ont., on July 14 when the horse fell out through an open door.

The mare was injured, but survived, and the OSPCA says she is responding well to treatment.

The animal welfare agency says the unidentified man has been charged with causing distress to an animal and failing to transport the horse in a manner that ensures its physical safety and general welfare.

He is due to appear in a provincial court in Brockville on Sept. 13.

Ontario Provincial Police had said after the incident that a 61-year-old man from Alfred, Ont., had been charged under the Highway Traffic Act with having an insecure load.

Grenville County OPP also said the horse was eventually able to stand up and was reloaded into the trailer and taken for a veterinarian examination.

"Transporting an animal is a serious responsibility and you must take every precaution to ensure that animal is not put in distress," said OSPCA senior inspector Bonnie Bishop in a news release.