58 Animals Just Seized at "Death Trap" in Rural San Diego County

http://laist.com/2011/12/03/officials_seize_58_animals_from_san.php

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58 Goats, Sheep, Horses & Llamas From San Diego Ranch Seized In Animal Neglect Investigation

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Photo by Synapped via the LAist Featured Photos pool

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The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has seized 58 animals on a ranch — horses, goats, sheep, cattle and llamas — as a part of an investigation into whether the ranch's owners were neglecting their animals.

Nennette and Raymond Wyatt, the owners of the ranch in eastern San Diego county, had previous reports of animal cruelty filed against them, according to a local Fox affiliate. Investigators were tipped off that 10 animals carcasses had been dumped on a dirt road not far from the ranch. They found animals that were dead or dying of starvation: nine dead goats and a llama that had to be put down.

The 58 animals seized on Friday were taken to a local animal shelter. No criminal charges have been filed yet.

Animal dumping is a big problem in rural areas of Southern California, like the Inland Empire. Earlier this year, the discovery of a skeletal horse named Mommas tied up without food or water in Ontario broke our hearts. Riverside County Department of Animal Services said earlier that they've responded to 41 reports of dumped horses (a number that has surely gone up). Experts say some owners can't afford the rising prices of food in a depressed economy and they can't afford the few hundred dollars it costs to euthanize their animals.

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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/02/livestock-seized-campo-amid-cruel...

SIGNON SAN DIEGO...

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Neglected livestock seized in Campo

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PHOTO: This llama was among animals seized Friday from a Campo ranch. — Earnie Grafton

Written by
Kristina Davis
3:31 p.m., Dec. 2, 2011
Updated 7:03 p.m.

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CAMPO — Nearly 60 horses, goats, sheep, llamas and cattle were seized from a Campo ranch Friday as county officials investigated allegations of animal cruelty.

Many of the rescued livestock were seriously underweight, and some were starving, the Sheriff’s Department said. Some also had overgrown hoofs, along with other medical conditions.

The small ranch is off Buckman Springs Road just north of Phelps Road.

The 58 animals were taken to the county shelter in Bonita, where they will be rehabilitated and possibly adopted, said Lt. Dan DeSousa of the county Department of Animal Services.

The investigation began Nov. 9 when sheriff’s deputies and animal control officers responded to a report of dead animals on a dirt road west of Buckman Springs Road. They found nine dead goats and a llama in such bad condition it was euthanized.

Necropsies showed the animals likely died from starvation.

Investigators learned the animals came from the nearby property owned by Nennette and Raymond Wyatt. The pair, along with their ranch manager, were given instructions Nov. 16 on how to care for their livestock, DeSousa said.

“They could not provide the necessary care, and that’s why the animals were seized,” De Sousa said. The District Attorney’s Office will determine if any criminal charges will be filed. No arrests have been made.

In a phone interview Friday, the Wyatts said they have hired an attorney and plan to file a lawsuit against county animal control alleging abuse of authority and entrapment.

“They made some unreasonable requests” that no one would have been able to correct in the time frame given, Raymond Wyatt said.

Nennette Wyatt said the animals were in the care of an employee. She said the employee failed to carry out the couple’s instructions.

She said they have had animals on the ranch for 22 years and never before had problems. They have cattle, sheep and goats, in addition to rescued horses and llamas, and would never mistreat them, she said.

“I would never in my life do that to any species,” Nennette Wyatt said.

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http://www.10news.com/news/29911087/detail.html

10News | San Diego...

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Neglected Animals Seized At Campo Ranch
58 Animals Confiscated By Sheriff's Department

POSTED: 3:56 pm PST December 2, 2011
UPDATED: 4:01 pm PST December 2, 2011

CAMPO, Calif. -- Deputies and animal-welfare officers raided an East County ranch Friday and seized a variety of livestock, including sheep, goats, horses and cattle, that were ill and malnourished due to protracted neglect, authorities reported.

A total of 58 animals were confiscated from the Buckman Springs Road farmstead, which has been the subject of prior animal-cruelty complaints, according to San Diego County sheriff's officials.

The operation stemmed from an investigation that began early last month, when deputies and county animal control officers responded to a report that livestock carcasses had been dumped on a dirt road just west of the Campo-area ranch.

The personnel arrived to find nine dead goats and a llama so badly ailing it had to be euthanized, officials said.

Postmortem tests on the animals -- which had been living at the nearby ranch -- determined that none of them had any diseases or other conditions that could have contributed to their deaths and that they most likely had starved to death.

In response to the livestock fatalities, county officials provided the ranchers with detailed information on the proper feeding and care of farm animals.

The livestock seized this morning were taken to a Bonita-area county shelter, where veterinarians will try to nurse them back to health, authorities said.

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office will review the case and determine whether to file criminal charges against the operators of the ranch, according to sheriff's officials.

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