A HOME FOR THE WEARY: Animal sanctuary owner arrested for refusing to return stray cows from beef farm
The amount of vitriol and even threats of violence directed towards Tracy Murphy for her act of kindness doesn't reflect well towards the New York State Police or humanity as a whole.
NATALIE NEYSA ALUND: A New York animal sanctuary owner is facing a felony charge after officials say cows from a nearby beef farm strayed onto her property and she refused to return them to their owner. Tracy Murphy, president and founder of Asha’s Farm Sanctuary in Newfane, a small town 38 miles north of Buffalo near Lake Ontario, was arrested Tuesday and charged with third-degree grand larceny, the New York State Police reported…
Gregson, whose property is about a half mile from Murphy’s animal sanctuary, said he was alerted his cows were at the sanctuary after receiving a phone call from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals [SPCA] of Upstate New York. He said his livestock had been there for about five days. So Gregson, who said he did not know Murphy at the time, visited her home early last week to get his cows. “She asked if I had proof I was the owner, then told me to get off her property because I was trespassing,” he said…
On July 25, Lockport troopers, the SPCA and Gregson responded to Murphy’s property to retrieve the animals, troopers wrote in a news release. But Murphy, troopers said, refused to give them back. A warrant was then executed for Murphy’s arrest and the cows were returned to their owner.
After she was taken into custody, troopers said, Murphy was booked into the Niagara County Jail. During a court arraignment later Tuesday, she pleaded not guilty to the felony charge. As of Wednesday, she remained free on bond, officials reported. If convicted of the crime, Murphy faces prison time.
Murphy’s attorney Matt Albert, who specializes in animal welfare law, said his client should not have been charged criminally. “When these sorts of cases come my way, 99 percent of the time police say they are civil in nature,” Albert told USA TODAY. “But here we have a trooper and beef farmer (Gregson) who basically incorporates the New York State Police Department into this,” he said. “It’s malicious and obscene and blatant.”
Since the cows wandered onto Murphy’s property, Albert said his client has had dead raccoons thrown onto her lawn and had protestors grilling meat in front of her property. “My client is a woman who has dedicated her entire life to protecting and serving creatures including cows that she houses at her sanctuary,” Albert said. “The amount of vitriol and even threats of violence directed towards her for her act of kindness doesn’t reflect well towards the New York State Police or humanity as a whole”. SOURCE…
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