A Corsica man says he’ll fight the charges after 13 horses were seized from his property.
He says he and his girlfriend have been caring for the horses at his own private horse rescue operation on Howe Road.
Leonard Hughes, 44, says he still has 17 horses and the worst ones seized weren’t there long enough to put on weight. He’s facing 14 animal cruelty tickets.
Hughes says he’s been building up his rescue for two years, and it helps with his PTSD after serving in the Army in Afghanistan.
“The horses that I picked up were already skinny. I got two of them from New Jersey, one of them from southern Pennsylvania, and the other one was down by the Maryland border. And the other horses that she picked up, there was nothing wrong with them.”
The humane officer says Hughes deprived horses of sustenance and vet care, according to the tickets.
The Willow Run Animal Sanctuary is helping care for the horse and is asking for hay and money donations. They have posted a website that is raising contributions for the horses’ care.
A hearing is set for next month.
We’ll have more on this story coming up on WTAJ News at 11:00.
