PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (AP) - Charges of animal mistreatment brought against a former state representative related to an underweight horse have been dropped, prosecutors said.
The charges of animal mistreatment against former state Rep. Amy Rice, of Portsmouth, could not be substantiated, the state’s attorney general’s office told the Newport Daily News on Wednesday.
In Aug. 2019, Rice was arrested and charged with animal mistreatment over the condition of her horse, Reina, who was underweight.
A veterinarian who cared for the horse wrote in a sworn statement that the horse had access to shelter, water and food and that the horse’s condition was attributable to age and another medical condition, the newspaper reported.
The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had submitted a complaint to state troopers about Reina, saying she was significantly underweight.
In response to the dropped charges, Earl Newman, humane law enforcement agent for RISPCA, expressed disappointment but told the newspaper the horse was doing well in a foster home.
Rice told the newspaper, “It was a relief and the right thing to do as they should not have brought (the charge) in the first place.”
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