Huron County woman pleads guilty in animal cruelty investigation: OSPCA

Ontario’s animal welfare watchdog says a woman from Huron County has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after an investigation involving 60 animals on her property. (Photo: Ontario SPCA/Facebook)

BRUSSELS, Ont.—Ontario’s animal welfare watchdog says a woman from Huron County has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after an investigation involving 60 animals on her property.

The Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says it executed a search warrant in March 2016 at a property in Brussels, Ont., about 50 kilometres east of Goderich, Ont.

The OSPCA says investigators found 22 cats living in unsanitary conditions in several small cages and 21 dogs in dirty cages and kennels without food or water.

It says investigators also found two goats in a shed without windows, lighting, food or water, 12 chickens in a coop without food and three exotic birds and a rabbit in unsanitary conditions.

The OSPCA says the animals were removed from the property and individually assessed by a veterinarian. It says one dog had to be euthanized due to its deteriorated condition.

The agency says 53-year-old Gina Platt pleaded guilty in a provincial offences court on Feb. 10 to permitting distress to an animal and was sentenced to two years probation and a five-year prohibition that limits the number of species and number of animals she can own.