An Okanagan woman has been handed a 15-year ban from owning any animals after three horses in her care were found to be in “critical distress.”
On Nov. 12, Sandra Nickolls entered a guilty plea to causing animals to be in distress.
During her court appearance in Vernon, Nickolls was handed 12 months probation and 40 hours of community service. The only exception to her 15-year animal ownership ban is one cat.
However, she will be required to allow the BC SPCA to inspect her home to ensure compliance with the ban.
The ban and prohibition are the result of an investigation launched in April 2024 after reports of an injured horse were made to the BC SPCA, a news release said.
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The responding animal protection officer found three horses in “concerning condition” on the property near Armstrong.
“All three horses had dramatically overgrown hooves causing mobility issues,” the BC SPCA said.
“This was further exacerbated by the conditions of their shared shelter, which had piles of built-up feces so high the horses were forced to climb over them to enter and exit the shelter. The water available to the horses was unsanitary, and the horses were observed eating hay from the feces-covered ground.”
One of the horses, which was found to be 26-year-old, was underweight and had a severe and untreated leg injury which led to sores developing on her hind quarter.
A veterinarian who attended the scene recommended the horse be euthanised on site to end its suffering.
Two other horses, who were also in poor condition were seized and transferred to a foster farm in the hopes they would recover, however, the BC SPCA said neither horse’s condition improved.
The BC SPCA explained that they will never euthanize healthy animals and they make every effort to help animals find foster homes and receive the care they need.
However, the two remaining horses were also euthanized due to how poor their conditions were.
