Man says horses mysteriously ill, not abused
COTTAGEVILLE — The organizer of a children's Bible camp says some of the 47 horses seized by authorities Tuesday are sick but denies that any of them were ever abused or neglected.
Eddie Ackerman, the minister at Wholehearted Church which owns the Gift Horse Bible Camp, said Wednesday that he's been trying for weeks to determine why nearly a dozen of the horses stopped eating the oats, hay and grass he supplied them on a daily basis.
"I've never had horses that poor in my life and I've had horses for 40 years," Ackerman said. "What happened to them is an absolute mystery to me."
Colleton County Animal and Environmental Control officers, with the help of Charleston County authorities, seized the animals after they said they received numerous complaints that the animals were being neglected and abused. The animals have been seized until a May 12th hearing before a judge. No charges have been filed.
Officials who visited the farm described moldy oats on the ground and algae-filled water in the buckets, allegations Ackerman denies. Several of the animals' ribs were clearly visible, which Ackerman doesn't deny.
Ackerman said he welcomed the help of authorities but said the allegations that brought them to his horse farm come from neighbors who have been unsuccessfully trying to shut him down for years.
"I'm being unjustly persecuted by Animal Control because somebody has it out for us," he said.
Read more details in Thursday's editions of The Post and Courier.
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Comments
reality_woman (anonymous) says...
The outcome here will be very interesting. I hope for the sake of Mr. Ackerman and the horses that it is an illness and not neglect.
May 6, 2009 at 10:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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