Ontario SPCA lending U.S. colleagues a hand with large animal cruelty case

NEWMARKET, Ont. — An Ontario animal protection group says it has sent members of its rescue and relief team to Massachusetts to assist American colleagues in handling what it calls the largest-ever farm cruelty case in the northeastern United States.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) says more than 1,000 farm animals — including pigs, cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, calves, sheep, cows and fish — were found living in deplorable conditions on a 70-acre (28-hectare) property in Westport, Mass., on Aug. 1.

The U.S. agency says there were numerous dead animals on the property and many of the living animals showed signs of neglect and had no access to food or water.

The Ontario SPCA offered to send members of its team and a livestock trailer to provide support and is helping to shelter the animals and care for them.

The ASPCA says its investigators are assisting in collection of evidence to support a criminal case.

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“We are pleased to support our friends at the ASPCA on this large-scale removal,” says Ontario SPCA senior inspector Bonnie Bishop. “Working together, we will give these animals the care they require.”

The Canadian Press