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In Defense of Animals Files Cruelty Charges for Six Starved Donkeys

In Defense of Animals Files Cruelty Charges for Six Starved Donkeys

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Doll Stanley, doll@idausa.org, 662-809-4483

In Defense of Animals Files Cruelty Charges for Six Starved Donkeys

Grenada, Miss. (March 12, 2014) – In Defense of Animals (IDA), the international animal protection organization that operates Hope Animal Sanctuary in Grenada, Mississippi, was contacted by the Tallahatchie County Sheriff’s Department, on March 5th, concerning a group of dead and dying donkeys on Powell Creek Road in Cascilla, Mississippi.

When IDA rescuers arrived at the property they found a horrific scene—donkey skeletal remains, three carcasses, and two barely clinging to life. The bodies and remains were scattered around the property; one donkey was lying in the middle of the driveway, so that anyone entering or exiting would have to drive around the animal’s body.

A male and female donkey barely alive, who could no longer stand or reach the nearby pond for water, were found within yards of the property’s residence. They were carefully moved to IDA’s Hope Animal Sanctuary, where they immediately received veterinary care. Sadly, despite all efforts, the female donkey couldn’t be saved and died two days later.

“It’s beyond understanding how anyone could watch the slow and agonizing death of any creature. The acute suffering these donkeys experienced by dehydration and starvation is simply incomprehensible,” said HAS director Doll Stanley.

Following the investigation, affidavits were filed charging two suspects from the property with animal cruelty. Unfortunately, two years ago the Mississippi State Legislature amended the penal code addressing animal cruelty by limiting the number of affidavits per cruelty case to just one. For the twenty years prior to the change in law, cruelty charges had carried a count for each animal harmed, with no limit.

“Knowing that the only Mississippi State statute applicable to this case carries the disgracefully pathetic maximum fine of $100 is abhorrent,” said Stanley. “It would be unimaginable to file a single affidavit for an offense in which more than one person was harmed and then to demean the victim with a maximum fine of $100.”

IDA recently rescued nineteen starving Yalobusha County horses and has been inundated in recent months with calls for help for animals whose guardians are neglecting or abusing them. IDA is asking for the public’s continued support in meeting the needs of the Yalobusha County horses, as well as for the more than two hundred animals cared for daily, and for the imperiled animals awaiting rescue throughout the region.

People offering help may contact IDA via www.idausa.org or by calling Hope Animal Sanctuary at 662-809-4483.

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