N.Y. Horse Rescuer, Suffolk Co. SPCA Settle Lawsuit

The litigation stems from a 2010 SPCA investigation on the New York Horse Rescue, operated by Mona Kanicper.
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The operator of a New York horse rescue organization and the Suffolk County, N.Y., Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) have reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging the SPCA violated the rescuer's constitutional rights.

The litigation stems from a 2010 SPCA investigation on the New York Horse Rescue (NYHR), operated by Mona Kanicper, said Kanicper's spokesman Lonnie Soury. Kanciper filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Region of New York alleging that the Suffolk County SPCA violated her civil rights because it failed to conduct a proper investigation into allegations of equine abuse at her Manorville, N.Y., farm. The allegations were brought to the SPCA’s attention in 2009 by a disgruntled NYHR employee and others, Soury said.

While the equine-related abuse allegations were deemed unfounded, Kanciper was indicted on three counts of animal cruelty involving dogs and two counts of endangerment of a minor as a result of the Suffolk County SPCA probe, Soury said. The child endangerment charges were connected to the appropriate euthanasia of a dog while a child was present, he said. During a non-jury trial, one of the charges was dismissed, and Kanciper was found not guilty on all the dog-related animal cruelty charges, Soury said. She was found guilty on one count of child endangerment.

In a written statement, Soury said an appellate court later threw out that child endangerment conviction

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Written by:

Pat Raia is a veteran journalist who enjoys covering equine welfare, industry, and news. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her Tennessee Walking Horse, Sonny.

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