For Release: May 29, 2008
Contact: Lori Cook - 928-317-3243, cell - 928-246-8560
Punishment for Inhumane Treatment of
Adopted Wild Horses and Burro
Yuma, Ariz. – On Tuesday, May 28, 2008, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jay R. Irwin sentenced Matthew T. Ashby to two years of supervised probation with $365 in restitution and a $3,000 fine for the inhumane treatment of two Bureau of Land Management (BLM) adopted wild horses. Ashby pled guilty to two counts of 43 CFR 4770.1(f) for the inhumane treatment of two adopted wild horses on April 10, 2008.
Ashby was originally charged on February 7, 2008, with four counts of inhumane treatment of three wild horses and one wild burro (43 CFR 4770.1(f)) and four counts of violation of the terms of adoption (43 CFR 4770.1(g)). BLM repossessed the animals on December 10, 2007, after receiving a report from a local veterinarian that there were BLM animals in poor condition at Ashby’s residence.
The three horses and burro were placed at Triple R Ranch Rescue, Rehab, and Retirement for rehabilitation. One horse and one burro were reassigned to other adopters in March 2008, and the other two horses were sent to the BLM Ridgecrest Holding Facility in California to be placed back in the adoption program.
Ashby originally adopted the four animals at the BLM Adoption in Yuma on April 8, 2006.
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