More than 100 animals were taken from a farm in Brandon last week and their owner charged with two counts of animal cruelty.
William Hegarty, 54, appeared in court Tuesday on the charges, pleading not guilty to both.
Police reported that the hundreds of animals on Hegarty’s property appeared to be severely neglected, lacking any clear source of food or water. They also noted several dead animals left around the property.
Hegarty has had animals removed from his residence on two previous occasions, according to police.
In this most recent case, about 120 horses, dogs, cats, goats and other farm animals were removed from Hegarty’s farm, though about 100 chickens, ducks, and other birds had yet to be taken. The animals were relocated to several shelters and volunteers’ homes throughout the area.
Brandon Police Chief Christopher Brickell said Hegarty’s property did not seem to be a working farm, and that it was unclear why he had such a high number of animals in the first place.
“I don’t think William has a lot of experience in farm animals,” Brickell said. “But I do believe it’s been getting concerning for a while.”
He said the investigation is still open, but he has some doubts about whether Hegarty was actually the owner of the animals at all.
Brickell said veterinarians are continuing to examine all the animals to assess each one’s health.
Police were alerted to the possible abuse by a friend of Hegarty’s wife, who had helped with the care of the animals several years ago. After they received the tip, Brickell said police, along with several veterinarians, quickly moved to save the animals at the site.
“The complainant believes that the owner was just overwhelmed,” he said. “If you thought somebody was overwhelmed, you’d try to get assistance, and fix that situation. But it’s happened twice before. So now he’s looking at a criminal charge.”
Brickell said from what he’s heard, he understands that Hegarty’s wife was only supposed to keep a limited number of animals. He said he’s not sure the specifics of that court arrangement, but that it makes it hard to feel sure that Hegarty will be stopped from keeping so many animals in such poor conditions in the future.
“You don’t typically monitor people that have animals,” he said. “And when you live at the end of a dead-end road, and have a lot of farmland, it’s hard for anyone to keep track of somebody like that’s behavior.”
