ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Provincial court Judge James Walsh leaned across the bench and looked the woman before him in the eye Monday morning, making his words clear.
“You realize you could have gone to jail?,” Walsh asked.
The woman sitting in the dock nodded, then looked to the floor.
Stephanie Coates pleaded guilty to a single charge under the province’s Animal Health and Protection Act of unlawfully permitting an animal to be in distress. In her case, it was four animals: Mary Jane, J.B. and Figgy Duff, three Newfoundland ponies, as well as Shorty, a miniature horse.
“It’s important to me, when imposing a sentence, that the horses were taken from you. It’s even more important that the horses are healthy now and that they’ve thrived,” Walsh told Coates.
According to an agreed statement of facts, animal protection officers received a report with concerns for the health of Coates’ horses. After consulting the province’s chief veterinary officer, Dr. Laura Rogers, she requested RNC officers accompany a veterinarian to the property to assess the animals.
Shortly before lunchtime on Feb. 2, 2019, a vet and three police officers visited Coates’ C.B.S. property, assessing the horses and noting concerns with their health. The horses were all underweight and had no fresh food — only spoiled silage in a snow-covered feeder and straw under the snow in a field — and only frozen water. Their coats were matted and frozen in spots, making it difficult for the horses to stay warm, the vet wrote, and one of the animals had manure matted in its hair. A stall was dirty with manure and urine-soaked hay and one of the horses had severely overgrown and cracked hooves and an overgrown tooth.
“It’s important to me, when imposing a sentence, that the horses were taken from you. It’s even more important that the horses are healthy now and that they’ve thrived." — Judge James Walsh
The vet reported Coates had said she hadn’t gotten to feeding the horses yet that day and had been meaning to call about a dental exam for J.B. She had been trying unsuccessfully to get Mary Jane to gain weight, she told the vet.
“Stephanie claimed to have fed Shorty around 7 a.m., but the lack of tracks in the snow did not support her claim. Shorty also dove out for a bed of hay that was outside his stall when he first came out,” the vet wrote.
The vet instructed Coates to clean the horses’ stalls, groom them and provide them with new bedding, hay and water. She asked Coates for permission to visit the next day.
The doctor said her concern for the horses deepened after she received a report the next morning that the horses had still not been fed.
“At this point, the doctor recommended the animals be removed and placed in foster care to stop and prevent the current suffering from neglect and malnutrition,” prosecutor Nicole Hurley told the court. The horses were removed from Coates’ property and taken into foster care. She agreed to relinquish ownership of them.
Over the next six weeks, the horses’ health improved and their personalities changed, resulting in them being more interested in their environment and more interactive with humans, the vet noted. J.B. gained 75 pounds while Mary Jane gained 50.
“There was no special medical intervention required to rehabilitate these horses, only appropriate food that was provided at regular intervals and free choice access to water at all times,” Hurley said.
Hurley argued for a lifetime ban on owning or caring for horses and a fine between $2,000 and $4,000 for Coates, saying it was particularly aggravating that she had been given instruction to care for her horses but didn’t do it.
The court must deter owners who neglect their animals and show the community that animals must be cared for and respected, Hurley said.
A conviction under the Animal Health and Protection Act is not criminal and is liability-related only and can earn a person a fine of up to $50,000. The court is obligated to impose a sentence comparable to those imposed in prior cases with similar circumstances.
The Crown withdrew a criminal charge against Coates once she changed her plea to the other offence and spared the court a trial.
Defence lawyer Steve Orr told the judge he had been prepared to call a witness to testify, saying it would have been a complicated trial.
“This is very difficult for her. She’s an animal lover. She’s devastated by this,” Orr said.
Orr told the court that at the time Coates’ horses were assessed, she had been experiencing a family crisis with a child in hospital.
“She was spending all her time at the Janeway with (the young family member) and not giving enough time to her animals, which is very unfortunate,” Orr said.
He argued for a $2,000 fine and contested the lifetime ban on owning or caring for horses until the judge interjected, pointing out Coates had been given an opportunity to correct the situation but failed to do it.
“That was her chance,” Walsh said.
“Fair enough,” Orr conceded.
Sentencing Coates to the lifetime ban and a $2,600 fine, Walsh told her the law is strict when it comes to animal neglect and he referred to the 2018 case of John Michael Corcoran. Walsh had sentenced Corcoran to eight months in prison for starving his pet pit bull to death and hiding the dog’s remains in a suitcase.
“That’s how serious this is, OK?,” the judge said. “I can’t imagine the circumstances you were going through (with your family member), but it’s really important that you were given a chance and you didn’t take it.”
