On October 26th, 2015 Police arrested the owner of Peaceable Farm, Anne Shumate Williams for 27 counts of animal cruelty. There were well over a hundred animals on the farm, and about three quarters of them were surrendered, but there may very well be many other suffering animals in need of care and medical attention, but the police can only intervene when the animal is near death, and often it is too late by then. In this case, six horses and donkeys and were already dead when police arrived, and nine of the recovered horses had to be euthanized.
Sadly, one the horses that had to be euthanized due to being so severely starved was formerly rescued by local, Carrie Reid. Reid took in the horse, Matty, when she was found emaciated at age 19. She got the horse back in good shape, but was unable to care for her permanently, so Matty was taken in at Peaceable Farm. Reid was heartbroken to discover that this poor horse had to go through the pain of starvation twice in her life. She has been a major advocate for the case against Williams.
There is no official word yet on what the outcome will be for Williams, but it is expected that she will be facing more charges. No comments from Williams have yet to be released. Animal rights supporters everywhere can only hope that the repercussions will be severe to set an example for others and to ensure that Williams never hurts or neglects another animal again.