Animal cruelty charges against a Vermont woman accused of maltreating 23 Arabian horses have been dropped.
In November, personnel from the Spring Hill Horse Rescue, in Clarendon, Vermont, assisted the Woodstock Police Department in removing 23 allegedly maltreated horses from a farm operated by Marjatta Lavin. The horses were placed in the care of the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society in Windsor, Vermont, before being transferred to the Green Mountain Horse Association, in South Woodstock, Vermont, for rehabilitative care.
Woodstock Police subsequently arrested Lavin and charged her with 10 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty.
Lavin’s attorney Daniel Stevens said Lavin agreed to an order surrendering the animals to the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society on Feb. 24.
“The state dismissed the charges,” Stevens said.
He declined further comment on the case.
Heidi Edmunds, executive director of the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society, said that since their seizure the horses are all doing well. All are available for adoption, she said.
Source: thehorse