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Investigators
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(photo courtesy of WIVT News Channel34) Rosetta Irwin, was arrested Friday, April 7th after Investigators
found horse and dog corpses on her farm in Afton and now she is facing animal
cruelty charges.
On Saturday, April 8th, the Chenango County Sheriff's Department was back at her farm. Irwin says, “We've had horses die of old age, we had one who we had to put down, we had to shoot because he had cancer and he just dropped.” “It's a skeleton. He was like, covered up with rocks and stuff.”
Irwin stated she wanted the horses and dogs she lost this winter to be buried on the farm where she raised them, but was waiting for winter to end. “We're down there now, burying the dogs by hand. We would have done that anyway, as soon as the ground got soft.” But it’s illegal - animals have to be buried within 3 days of their death. A Chenango County Sheriff's Lt. said that police found animals that had been dead for months - some skeletons, bones scattered around the farm, and some of the corpses still chained up.
With a search warrant for Irwin’s property, the Chenango County Sheriff's department took all of her horses and dogs, and put them into trailers. They have been taken to shelters where they can get back on their feet before they're placed in other homes.
Up to 40 volunteers helped to remove up to 23 horses and 16 dogs. Irwin insists she's always kept her animals well fed and well treated.
She might be able to get them back if she makes changes to her farm.
Update 4/5/06:
Chenango County has charged Irwin of State Route 235 in Coventry with multiple counts of animal cruelty after Sheriff's Deputies found 14 dead, unburied animals on her property, as well as more than 30 starving animals.
Irwin, age 49, was arraigned in the Town of Greene Court and will appear in the Town of Coventry Court tonight at 7pm.
8 dead horsed, 5 dead dogs and a dead cat were found. 15 horsed, 15 dogs, 1 cow and 3 cats where also found to not be receiving any food, water or proper shelter.
Update 4/7/06:
Irwin's case was adjourned until a later date. She was also assigned Norwich lawyer Peter McBride to represent her because of a conflict of interest with the Chenango County Public Defender's Office.
In compliance with a state law that requires owners to bury dead animals within 72 hours of police notification, Irwin buried the animals on her property on 4/5/06.
There were no autopsies as there wasn't enough left from the decayed animals. Rescuers believe the animals died from starvation and many were left lying where they died.
Reference:
News Channel34 WIVT
Syracuse NewsChannel9
Press & Sun-Bulletin
The Daily Star