Former Owner Charged with 30 Counts of Animal Cruelty
METHUEN, Mass., April 11, 2024 – The MSPCA at Nevins Farm is calling for adopters for more than 160 animals who were rescued from an Ayer property in February. The animals were seized by MSPCA Law Enforcement and Ayer Police after it was discovered that they were living in unsanitary conditions without adequate access to food and water—and officers observed injured animals in need of medical care.
Their previous owner, who is being charged with 30 counts of animal cruelty, surrendered the animals to the care of the MSPCA on April 8.
“These animals have been through a lot,” said MSPCA-Angell Vice President of Animal Protection, Mike Keiley. “But now that they’re in our care, we’re focused on helping them get back to good health—including getting them to adequate body weights—and placing them into homes where they’ll get the love and care they deserve.”
A Full Farm—With More Animals Coming
Among the animals are 91 chickens, 11 ducks, eight geese, and two ponies, as well as 49 goats, some of whom are pregnant.
“Many of these animals needed medical care,” Keiley elaborated. “In addition to caring for the pregnant goats and their eventual babies, we need to castrate the males, and some of the birds also need additional treatment, including a poor goose that has a tumor on its eyelid.”
Avian and Exotics specialist Dr. Anne Staudenmaier at Angell West in Waltham is expected to perform surgery on that goose and any of the other surrendered farm birds who need advanced help.
“It’s really fortunate that these animals came to Nevins, where we have access to world-class veterinarians like Dr. Staudenmaier,” said Keiley.
“But this kind of specialized care, on top of the basic care many of them need just to get healthy, puts an incredible strain on resources.”
Keiley estimates caring for these animals has already topped $20,000, with more costs accruing as they continue on their road to recovery. Those who would like to donate to help offset that cost are asked to do so at mspca.org/ayer.
Adopt These Animals (and Others)!
“Getting all of these animals ready for adoption will take an extraordinary amount of work, given the condition they arrived in,” Keiley expounded. “But there are some goats, ducks, geese, and roosters at Nevins who are ready to find their forever homes now.”
“Some of those animals are related to other cases, like the ASPCA goats from New York, but caring for a population of the size we currently have at Nevins is really challenging.”
“So, we’d love to move adoptable animals as soon as we can,” he added, noting that he expects other animals from the Ayer surrender to become available over the next two-to-three weeks.
Interested adopters can visit Nevins Farm in Methuen during open hours, Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 3:00 p.m.
Adopters may also submit an inquiry at mspca.org/nevinsadopt.
