Trial of mother, daughter charged in Alberta animal cruelty case adjourned after 1 day

After only one day, the trial of a mother and daughter accused of animal abuse has been adjourned for two months.

The duowent on trial Monday after dozens of skinny, malnourished horses, dogs and birds were seized from their propertyin central Alberta despite being banned from owning animals for 20 years after previous convictions in an animal cruelty case in B.C.

Karin Adams and her daughter, Catherine Adams, each face five chargesafter ninehorses, 25 dogsand 17 birds were seized from theproperty in Hanna,northeast of Calgary, in 2015.

They are representing themselves in court.

Court heard testimony from an RCMP officer who described finding skinny, malnourished animals at the property in 2015, saying the animals had no access to food or water.

The home smelled of feces and urine, and some of the dogs were locked in filthy kennels, he said.

SPCApeace officer RichardWheatleytold court one horse had a discharge from its eye while another had a cut on its leg.

"These particular animals were thin. You could notice back bones on them. Hip bones were prominent. There were ribs that you could touch on the horse," Wheatleysaid.

"I did not see any feed on the property."

Woman jailed in B.C. animal cruelty case

The accused women had already been convicted in British Columbia in 2014 following a similar seizure involving more than 100 animals at a home near the town of Houston.

• B.C. woman jailed over animal cruelty

Constables seized 18 horses, 18 dogs, 15 birds, two cats and 104 fish from the B.C. property, finding them malnourished and kept in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions.

Both women were handed 20-year bans on owning animals and ordered to pay nearly $5,500 in restitution to the SPCA to offset care costs.

Karin Adams was also sentenced to 15 days in jail and two years' probation, while her daughter was given six months' conditional house arrest and three years' probation.

They were also required to stay in regular contact with the B.C. Ministry of Justice.

The current trial will resume in mid-February in2017.

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