22 horses seized as King Co. investigates nonprofit for animal cruelty

ENUMCLAW, Wash. – Deputies with the King County Sheriff’s Office raided an Enumclaw property Saturday and seized twenty-two horses. Now the rescue nonprofit is being investigated for animal cruelty.

An equine veterinarian found parasites in their feces. She also said because of a lack of access to shelter and extremely muddy terrain, the horses were at risk of further bacterial infections.

“I don’t know what her goal is. If you’re a horse rescuer, your goal is to get them into good homes, this is not a good home,” said the independent veterinarian, who asked for anonymity.

The horses did have food and water at the time of the raid, but reports from the property owner suggest that wasn’t always the case.

“If you can’t take care of an animal you should not own one,” said Vance Sayers, who initially lent his land to rescuer Sharon Hunter in August.

Hunter operates a Redmond nonprofit called Hunters Wind Wild Horse Rescue.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, there is a warrant for her arrest for animal cruelty from Snohomish County.

Had she shown up during the raid on Saturday, deputies were prepared to arrest her. She did not show up but told a neighbor she was planning on moving the horses next week.

The King County Sheriff’s Office seized the horses on Saturday for suspicion of animal abandonment – a violation of state law RCW 16.54.

The law states that animals can be seized if not removed when a specified period of custody expires.

Sayers lent Hunter four acres of his land in August to hold the horses for two weeks.

As of December, the horses had not been moved or rescued and the county was notified of potential malnourishment and neglect.

The horses are now in the custody of King County, but temporarily being cared for by nonprofit SAFE – Save A Forgotten Equine.

SAFE’s Operational Director Terry Phelps said she’d been tracking this pack of horses since 2015.

“They can’t live like this,” said Phelps on Saturday.

Phelps said these horses were moved to five different plots of land in the last three years.

A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office said the horses will soon be up for adoption. But they must first undergo an extensive medical assessment.

“There’s so much potential for them, too. They have a whole life ahead of them,” Phelps said.