Investigators with the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department Animal Cruelty Task Force have seized nearly two dozen animals after neighbors reported abuse and neglect at a property south of Las Cruces.
Four horses, a miniature horse, a miniature donkey, two sheep, five goats, seven chickens, a rooster and a dog were seized last week from a home in the 5600 block of Lassiter Road.
A staff veterinarian with the sheriff’s department said all of the animals, whose conditions varied from “bad to severe and life-threatening” were malnourished and did not have access to fresh water.
The horses also had hooves they could not walk on and suffered from various skin diseases.
Investigators say neighbors who alerted the sheriff’s department of the situation claim the owner of the animals, 51-year-old Tambri Hunteman, was allegedly only caring for the animals once or twice a week.
Hunteman, who reportedly told investigators she no longer lives on the property, faces several counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty charges.