The owner of the rescue says they threatened to take her dogs away if she did not comply and surrender the animals to them.
GONZALES COUNTY, Texas — Nearly 100 animals were seized and nine horses euthanized at a Gonzales County horse rescue last week, prompting outrage from the rescue’s director who says authorities acted aggressively and without justification.
Darla Cherry, director and president of Meadow Haven Horse Rescue and Sanctuary in Smiley, said representatives with the American Humane Society arrived at her property on Dec. 3 requesting to inspect her animals.
Cherry said she refused and asked for a warrant.
“They came back the next day with an inspection warrant and a seizure order,” Cherry said. “The ink wasn’t even dry yet, and they went out and started killing horses. They killed nine.”
Cherry said the warrant named her and her husband personally, not the organization. She also said some of the animals in her care arrive in poor condition because they are rescues.
“If it was a rescue, it would have been acceptable, but as a person they’re saying I’m doing that to them, which was untrue,” she said.
Cherry alleges investigators threatened to take her dogs if she didn’t comply.
“He said if I don’t comply, he’s going to take my dogs away from me,” she said. “I complied. I signed his little document that’s not legal.”
Cherry said nine horses — including a donkey — were euthanized in front of her. She described the scene as traumatic.
“The cruelty that they were handling these animals, the way they were handling them, was horrible,” she said. “I begged them to quit.”
In total, she said 89 animals were seized, including horses, donkeys, goats and pigs, leaving her with 31 horses.
The Gonzales County Attorney’s Office released a statement saying the seizure was part of an ongoing animal cruelty and neglect investigation.
The statement said many animals were found in “deplorable conditions” and that on-site euthanasia “was the only humane path forward” for some of them.
Cherry insists her rescue remains operational.
“I need my supporters to know that Meadow Haven Horse Rescue and Sanctuary is alive and well,” she said. “They didn’t shut me down. They didn’t destroy my organization.”
KENS 5 reached out to the Gonzales County Constable’s Office and the County Attorney’s Office for additional comment but did not receive a response.