Humane Society, police seize 43 ‘malnourished, injured’ animals from farm in Germantown
GERMANTOWN — Agents of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton and the Germantown Police Department seized 43 animals from a farm in Germantown in late July that society officials said were “malnourished, injured, [and] live in appalling conditions with little or no fresh food.”
Showing obvious signs of neglect and property maintenance violations, Humane Society agents teamed up with police to rescue a horse, 2 cows, 3 goats, 7 sheep, 5 rabbits, 7 peacocks, a turkey, a duck, 2 guinea fowl, 11 chickens and 3 geese.
Water found on the farm looked more like sludge, and the feces were nearly 3 feet deep in stalls, according to humane society.
“It’s always a difficult day for our team to see animals in such poor and negligible conditions,” Brian Weltge, Humane Society president and CEO, said in a prepared statement released Tuesday afternoon.
“Our team . . . responded quickly to obtain a search warrant and get the animals out of this dire situation so that we could immediately begin addressing their veterinary needs and provide them with the food, shelter and medical care they needed.” need to rehabilitate.”
Because most of the animals were extremely underweight and many had additional health problems, the humane society was able to place the animals in foster care where they receive the care and medical attention they need.
Two to four animals remain on the farm, by court order, and the Humane Society is monitoring their health, said society spokeswoman Jessica Garringer.
Agents of Human Society recently appeared in Miamisburg Municipal Court regarding the seizure. The defendants, whose names the society has not released to the media, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty involving the 43 surrendered animals. Both defendants were sentenced to the maximum under Ohio law and given a maximum of five years’ probation. The Miamisburg Municipal Court Probation Service and Humane Society will monitor the suspects during probation.
Weltge said the humane society is grateful to the people who reported this situation.
“Our organization cannot be everywhere at once, so we rely on the community as our eyes and ears. Your diligence has allowed us to remove these animals and give them the help they need,” he said.
The cost of caring for these animals can be very expensive for humane society, he said, asking the public to commit financially to the care they need to thrive as they recover and go to their forever homes. . Weltge asks the public to visit www.hsdayton.org/donate to make a donation, as the association receives no government funding because it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
The humane society relies solely on donations from individuals, companies and grants to support animals cared for by the organization.
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