Horseman Michael Neafus of Corydon, Indiana, has been arrested and is facing Level 6 felony-cruelty-to-animals charges. The charges stem from incidents that allegedly took place last month at the Harrison County Fairgrounds in Indiana.
An article by ABC affiliate WHAS11 states that Neafus is facing the charges due to allegations that he repeatedly shocked a three-year-old pacing filly with an electrical cord.
The WHAS11 article states that the alleged incidents took place over the course of a nine-day period in late May. Neafus was booked into the Harrison County Jail, and, according to an article by WDRB.com, was due in court this morning (Thursday, June 30).
Court documents allege that Neafus used the electrical device to “shock a horse (Shares Desires) repeatedly while the horse was in a stall, inflicting extreme physical pain to the horse.”
According to WDRB.com, apparent witnesses have alleged that Neafus shocked the filly for up to 10 minutes at a time while the bay was in her stall.
If found guilty of the charges, Neafus could face up to two and a half years in jail.
Upon learning of the situation, Harrison County Fairgrounds President Todd Uhl was quoted as saying, “I will work to gather more information and then the board will decide what action needs to be taken. The Harrison County Agricultural Society promotes the ethical and humane treatment of all animals and will not tolerate the alleged abuse of this horse.”
(With files from WHAS11 and WDRB.com)
People like this are brutal
People like this are brutal and should never be around animals period! What a piece of work. So happy he got caught.
This guy should never be
This guy should never be allowed in the racing business again. NEVER.