27 indicted in largest animal cruelty case in New England

The owner of a Westport farm and 26 tenants that rent out space on the property have been charged with mistreating more than 1,400 animals, in what authorities are calling the largest animal cruelty case in New England.

Attorney General Maura Healey said a grand jury handed up the 151-count indictment on Thursday after investigators presented evidence that the animals – including dogs, cats, chickens, horses and cows - were found in overcrowded, dangerous living conditions, often without enough food or water.

Some of the animals were housed with carcasses and others were kept in such deep manure that their hooves had rotted off, and they were suffering from painful eye, intestinal and skin ailments, Healey’s office said. Some had to be euthanized.

“This situation is unparalleled to anything I’ve seen in my 37 years as an animal law enforcement officer,” Lieutenant Alan Borgal of the Animal Rescue League of Boston said in a statement released by Healey’s office. “The sheer number of animals in dire need of care, and the cruel and unsanitary conditions we found were deplorable. It took an all-out effort of state and local officials along with multiple humane organizations to get all of those animals out of that horrible situation.”

Read more: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/31/indicted-westport-farm-animal-cruelty-case/Hl4uT0LJkJH9XwhaqNg2fM/story.html