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A Catawba County couple has been cited for failing to provide adequate care for donkeys behind their home.
Investigators found 18 donkeys Monday afternoon behind the home of Steven and Kay Faulkner off Monbo Road. At least four of the donkeys had hooves that appeared not to have been trimmed in some time.
Ray Bailey’s property backs up to the sheds where the donkeys are housed. Asked to describe the conditions the animals had been under, Bailey said “not great.”
“The animals have these elongated hooves,” Bailey told WCNC-TV, the Observer’s news partner. “The hooves are supposed to be trimmed on those animals.”
Another neighbor, who would not give his name, said Kay Faulkner had been hospitalized for the past week or so and that her husband had been away at work. The neighbor said he had come by a couple of times to help feed the animals.
Catawba County Animal Control would only say there was an investigation underway and would not answer questions about the animal’s conditions. But an investigator left a citation at the door of the Faulkner’s home Monday. It is a citation under the animal cruelty statute for failing to provide adequate veterinary care.
The couple has been given 72 hours to comply with the citation.
