Sheriff: 25 horses found dead on Maryland Eastern Shore farm
QUANTICO, Md. (AP) - A Maryland sheriff's office says dozens of dead horses were discovered strewn across a farm in various states of decay.
Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis told The Daily News of Salisbury that an investigation was launched Friday into the 25 dead horses found on the 2-acre (1-hectare) property. He said a dead foal lay steps from the front door of the owner's home.
Maryland property records show Clayton P. and Barbara L. Pilchard own the farm. Lewis says Barbara Pilchard said she saw nothing wrong with leaving the carcasses to decay.
Sheriff Lewis told WBOC on Friday that his deputies had been called to this house on numerous occasions in the past, but never for a call or complaint this extreme.
"Not a few times. Not a dozen times. But dozens of times over the years. And these horses have gotten our dozens of times and they have trampled people's flower beds and trampled their yards. There have been several near accidents with the horses in the roadway," Sheriff Lewis said.
Lewis says more than 200 cats were removed from the same property in 1995, leading to animal-neglect charges for Barbara Pilchard.