The 23-year-old mare’s death in October has become a rallying point for many who say Vermont’s animal cruelty laws are not enforced strictly enough. Protesters say the man accused of shooting the horse with a bow and arrow should be sentenced to jail time.
Quinton Clayton, 21, has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor count of animal cruelty and a felony count of unlawful mischief.
Investigators say Clayton and a friend were in the area of the horse’s Prospect Street paddock Oct. 5.
A source told police several weeks after the horse’s killing that when a group of people were talking about the incident, Clayton said he shot the horse and that he and his friend wiped the bow down. According to the police affidavit, Clayton said, “It wasn’t a big deal. It was just a horse and not a person.”
According to court papers, the arrow found in the horse’s body matched those that had been reported stolen from a car in Barre that same day.
A series of instant messages included with the affidavit show communications between Clayton and friends about the incident. One friend sent Clayton a screenshot of a Facebook post about Bunny’s killing, to which Clayton responded, “Yo don’t be telling anyone I did that.”
Clayton was arrested and arraigned in late October. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the case has not yet been resolved. He is facing unrelated charges that include distributing drugs to minors on school property and violation of conditions of release.
Regan Howard, the horse’s owner, attended the rally outside the courthouse Tuesday. She expressed frustration that Clayton was not charged with a more serious animal cruelty offense.
“He’s been charged with a misdemeanor,” she said. “This really should be a felony in my opinion.”
Howard bought Bunny more than a decade ago when her daughter was learning to ride. Just a week before the shooting, Bunny was moved to a paddock in downtown Barre belonging to a friend of Howard’s, where the horse routinely spent the winter months.
On the morning of Oct. 5, Howard got a call from her friend that Bunny was dead. It wasn’t until the tip of the arrow was found in the horse’s chest area that they realized how she had died.
According to Howard, investigators determined that Bunny likely broke off the shaft of the arrow while trying to extract it, before she eventually collapsed and bled out. Howard said veterinarians told her it may have taken hours.
Bunny’s shooting has sparked broad outrage among animal rights activists.
Katherine Collins, of Vermont Volunteer Services for Animals Humane Society, who helped organize Tuesday’s event, described the incident as “a sadistic killing.” She and others are calling for Clayton to be incarcerated if he is convicted.
The misdemeanor charge carries a penalty of up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000.
“We’re here to let the judge know that … we want jail time,” Collins said.
Collins said she is not aware of any animal cruelty case in Vermont where the defendant was sentenced to prison. She said Vermont’s animal cruelty laws are sufficient, but she believes “enforcement is a massive issue.”
She said prison time is important to enforce the law.
Washington County State’s Attorney Scott Williams said the case involves serious allegations and the “wasting of a life.”
Williams said the prosecution recently offered a plea deal, but that was rescinded when the defendant did not respond by the deadline.
Sentencing takes into account a wide variety of factors about a particular case, and punishment can vary, Williams said. He said he did not think the protesters “are in any position whatsoever” to determine the appropriate consequences for the case.
“Do we want serious jail for horses, but we want rehabilitation for everything else?” Williams said.
Clayton’s defense attorney Sam Dworkin said his client was not at a court hearing Tuesday afternoon because he is in treatment.
“Clayton is in compliance with court-ordered conditions of release stating that he be a patient at a residential treatment facility,” Dworkin said.
Asked about the protest, Dworkin declined to go into detail about the situation.
“The First Amendment right to public comment is an important cornerstone of our society,” Dworkin said.
