In December of 2010, hay was brought in to feed more than 100 malnourished and sick horses found on Rodney Kankey's Viola farm in Arkansas. Nearly three years after Kankey was charged with 118 counts of animal abuse, there is controversy over prosecutors' attempts to drop the charges instead of taking the case to trial.
The investigators for the Humane Society USA and ASPCA are outraged that, as the criminal charges against Kankey near a December trial after nearly three years, prosecutors are considering dropping the case. They believe there is strong evidence that the horses were suffering from disease, parasites, malnutrition and other health issues because of long term neglect by Kankey, and they told Kankey during two visits to his home in May of 2010 that he was violating animal cruelty laws. They advised the horses must have better care and safety hazards on the farm that put the horses in danger of injury must be corrected.
When two dead horses were found on Kankey's farm, along with more than 100 horses in distress on Dec. 7, 2010, emergency legal action was taken to allow the Humane Society and ASPCA to feed and care for the horses on Kankey's property, and they were later allowed to move the horses to an emergency shelter prepared for them in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Kankey was eventually charged with five felony counts of Aggravated Cruelty and 113 misdemeanor counts of Cruelty to Animals. The case made national news and volunteers from several states came to Mountain Home to help nurse the horses back to health. Because Kankey filed legal action challenging the seizure of the horses, months passed before the animal protection agencies won the right to adopt the horses out to loving families, and they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on care and medical treatment.
Kankey had also been charged on Nov. 25, 2010 with pointing a loaded pistol at one man, threatening the lives of his wife, father in law and two neighbors. This is a horrible man who deliberately starved and abused over a hundred horses and he's about to get off because of prosecutors who don't believe it's worth the effort to seek justice. Please help in demanding justice. We have to tell prosecutors they don't have the right to simply drop this case.
