Farm Owner Charged with Multiple Counts of Cruelty in Erie County, NY

Last Friday, May 14, investigators from the SPCA Serving Erie County (NY) charged Beth Hoskins with 10 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty after 73 horses, 53 cats and four dogs were found living in deplorable conditions on her Erie County, NY, farm. She faces up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine per count. While Hoskins’ attorney maintains his client’s innocence, the accused is scheduled for arraignment on May 26 in Aurora Town Court. To date, the total cost of the investigation, including animal care, has exceeded $110,000.

“These are some very serious charges,” says Jeff Eyre, the ASPCA’s Northeast Director of Field Investigations and Response. “It’s important to remember that each animal involved was abused.”

Eyre was one of several members of the ASPCA Field Investigations and Response Team deployed this past March to assist in what has been declared the largest farm animal rescue in the area. For more than two months, the team oversaw the sheltering and care of the horses recovered from the scene. By April 30, all of the remaining horses had been transported to new foster homes. "We achieved our goal to rehabilitate these horses, both physically and behaviorally," reports Eyre. "These are now happy horses, and I could not have asked for a better ending."

To read more about this case and the charges filed against Beth Hoskins, visit our Raids and Investigations page;

http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/aspca-in-action/73-horses-seized-in-upstate-new-york.html