[Animals] Animal Sanctuary Owner Arrested As Rescued Cows Are Returned To Beef Farm

[FazzNoth]

Tracy Murphy of animal sanctuary Asha’s Farm Sanctuary was arrested yesterday and charged with grand larceny in the third degree.

A warrant for her arrest was issued and executed, along with the retrieval of two cows that she claimed to have rescued but is formally charged with stealing.

The animals seemingly belong to Scott Gregson, a beef farmer in Newfane, New York. Gregson had asked Murphy to return the cows, which she claimed had wandered onto sanctuary property. She offered to buy their freedom instead.

The two have been embroiled in a disagreement for a number of weeks. Residents of the town gave support to Gregson in the form of placards and roadside banners. “Release the beef” and “Don’t mess with farmers” were common themes.

 

What will happen to Tracy Murphy?
Following her arrest, animal activist Murphy was taken to SP Lockport for processing. She was then moved to Niagara County jail for arraignment.

Her lawyer, Matthew Albert, claims her rights are being violated and that she has a legal entitlement to retain the cows.

“They’re entitled by law to hang onto these animals until that lien is paid, that never happened here,” Albert said in a statement. “They’re not following the Lien Law 183 and if they were, my client wouldn’t be charged criminally.”

New York State Lien Law states that a boarding stable can consider animals as collateral against boarding or upkeep fees. Animals can be surrendered, in lieu of payment. Murphy states that Asha’s Sanctuary is entitled to a $100 per day boarding charge.

#AshasFarmSanctuary is under attack by sick harmers. they recently saved two cows and the beef farmer found them somehow. since then they've received multiple death threats which the @nyspolice refuse to act on. PLEASE DONATE to them if you can and SHARE FAR & WIDE.

 

State troopers worked with the Niagara County District Attorney’s office and claim the Lien Law is not applicable in this case.

“During the investigation we did look at some of the law that she proposed to owner of the cow’s attorney and things like that. So we looked into those and we worked with the Niagara County DA’s office and those laws that were provided in the books for a very long time under the Newfane town court doesn’t apply to this,” state trooper James O’Callaghan said in a statement. 

He added: “The cows in question did have a working fence and wasn’t broken at any time. And with that Murphy never filed anything with the Newfane town courts so that’s why we were able to move forward with a criminal arrest.”

https://plantbasednews.org/news/activism/animal-sanctuary-owner-arrested/