Prosecutor Charges Former Owner of Horses Abandoned Near McBride

Prosecutors in McBride, British Columbia (B.C.), Canada filed charges on February 24, 2009, against Frank Mackay, the Edmonton lawyer who abandoned two of his pack horses–Belle and Sundance–on the slopes of Mount Renshaw last fall.  The horses were rescued in December 2008 by a group of volunteers from McBride who dug a trench in deep snow and led the horses to safety.

Mackay will have to defend against two criminal counts for abandoning an animal in distress and for causing an animal unnecessary pain and suffering, and one count under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

Mackay’s first court appearance is scheduled for June 12 in McBride.

Sundance (“Sunny”), a 14-year-old gelding and Belle, a three-year-old mare, were rehabilitated from their ordeal at Prince George Equine Rescue, a horse rescue facility in B.C..  The B.C. SPCA placed the horses in permanent homes–Sunny in Kamloops, B.C. and Belle in Prince George, B.C.–to which the horses will be transported as soon as they are well enough to travel.

Nicola Hoiland of Prince George Equine Rescue stands with Sunny, left, and Belle, the two horses that were rescued from certain death on Renshaw Mountain near McBride earlier this winter. They have been recovering at her facility in Prince George and are about to be moved to their respective adoptive families. (photo by Frank Peebles of Prince George Citizen publication)