Animal cruelty charges urged for owner of horses trapped in snow

Animal cruelty charges are being recommended against the owner of two horses that were found trapped in snow in central B.C. last month and had to be rescued by volunteers, who dug a one-kilometre trench to reach them.

The B.C. SPCA submitted a report to Crown counsel in Prince George recommending charges against the owner, saying he abandoned the animals near the town of McBride, about 210 kilometres east of Prince George.

Snowmobilers discovered the starving horses trapped on the side of Mount Renshaw in late December and brought them feed and blankets while volunteers started digging a trench in the snow.

It took them a week to open up a pathway and the horses were finally led to safety two days before Christmas.

Shawn Eccles of the SPCA said the horses are getting proper care in their foster homes and that they won't be returned to the owner, Frank McKay of Edmonton.

McKay said he lost sight of the horses in September when he was delivering supplies to hikers on Mount Renshaw. When he finally tracked them down, he said he couldn't get them out of the snow.