A 69-year-old Lexington man faces charges of animal cruelty after 60 horses left in his care were allegedly discovered suffering from malnutrition and some from death on a farm in Salt Lick.

Tom Browning turned himself over to Kentucky State Police Trooper Sam Hunt following an investigation that began March 20 into the case involving the horses on a farm owned by Dewayne and Louise Pergram.

According to an acquaintance of the Pergrams, Browning was leasing from the couple the farm located along KY 211. Police said the horses did not belong to the Pergrams but instead were owned by Browning. “They are really good people but entered into this lease and couldn’t get out of it,” the acquaintance commented, who wished to remain anonymous.

A reporter with The Morehead News went to the Pergram’s farm but was unable to find anyone on the premises. Several horses with visible ribs and hipbones showing were grazing in a grassy pasture close to the road.  There were no signs of officials at the farm or any indications of dead horses or horses suffering severe malnutrition.

According to KSP Post 8 in Morehead, Browning was left in charge of the horses, but had not been feeding the animals, which led to starvation in some, and death to others. Browning is facing second-degree animal cruelty, a misdemeanor, and is presently being held in the Montgomery County Detention Center.

Reference:

The Morehead News