Kathleen Cole and Jo Kamin of the Drayton Valley area each pleaded guilty on November 13th, 2018 to causing animals to be in distress under the Animal Protection Act 2(1). In March 2018, an Alberta SPCA Peace Officer attended the property owned by Cole and Kamin where he found one dead horse and 4 live horses in very poor body condition. The horses had access to poor quality feed and no access to water. The Officer also found 2 dogs in a dog run with poor shelter and no access to food or water. The entrance gates to the dog run were frozen shut with no recent tracks in the snow. The Peace Officer advised the subjects to provide proper feed and water to all animals and returned to the property the next day. At that point the situation had not changed and a veterinarian determined the horses and dogs were in distress. They were seized and removed from the property. Pathology testing on the dead horse revealed it died of severe malnutrition.
Cole was charged with 5 offenses under the Animal Protection Act, and Kamin was charged with 2 offenses. In Drayton Valley Provincial Court, both Cole and Kamin pleaded guilty to one charge of causing or permitting an animal to be in distress. Both Cole and Kamin were handed $500 fines. Cole is also prohibited from owning more than 2 horses for a period of 10 years; Kamin is prohibited from owning more than 1 horse for a period of 10 years.
Additional charges charge under the Animal Protection Act were withdrawn by the Crown.
For further information, please contact:
Dan Kobe
Communications Manager
Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
17904 – 118 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T5S 2W3
Tel: 780-732-3742
Email: [email protected]