Financial strain puts SoCal humane rescue sanctuaries on the brink, animals at risk
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Villa Chardonnay Horses With Wings, a sprawling animal sanctuary tucked into the Cuyamaca Mountains in San Diego County, billed itself for years as a place where unwanted animals could find love and a second chance at life.A video tour of the sanctuary posted in 2023 showed horses grazing and galloping across a vast expanse of the 40-acre property in Julian and a cattery where felines lounged in cat condos.
But rescue organizations that seized hundreds of domestic and farm animals from the property this month painted a different picture of the operation — one where animals suffered from severe neglect, malnutrition, emaciation, untreated open wounds and contagious infections.“It truly is appalling,” Dr.
Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society, said in a statement.“There is no question at all about the neglect, at the very least, that occurred out there.”The undertaking in San Diego County is just one of several large-scale rescues that have occurred across Southern California this year, raising alarms among advocates about a lack of oversight and funding constraints for organizations that take in so many animals.
In March, the Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control recovered hundreds of dogs and cats from a home in a rural part of Lake Hughes operating as an animal rescue.The operation — one of the largest in county history — was prompted by years of complaints from neighbors over the smell and noise at the property.
About a month later, officials in Riverside County rescued 480 ducks from a home in Anza that authorities say was operating as a sanctuary.Though there are cases of individuals starting animal sanctuaries or rescues with the hopes of lining their own pockets with donations, most are often founded by well-intentioned animal lovers, said Bradley Miller, the national director of the Humane Farming Assn.
“They’re ...