Owner denies animals mistreated on Abbeville propertyBy Kirk Brown · Anderson Independent Mail
Posted December 3, 2010 at 5:17 p.m.ABBEVILLE COUNTY — Narvin Lichfield says a Humane Society official wrongfully seized his horses and sheep and he wants them returned.
Lichfield said his attorney has asked Joe Mann to bring back several horses and about 40 sheep that were taken from a 450-acre tract near Due West in Abbeville County. The property served as the campus for Carolina Springs Academy, a boarding school opened by Lichfield in 1998 that is now closed.
Lichfield said Mann, who is president of the Greenwood Humane Society's board of directors, intentionally misled him to obtain permission to remove the animals.
"He trespassed on my property," Lichfield said. "He misrepresented the condition of my animals."
Lichfield also said the animals that Mann removed from his property are worth $100,000.
Mann, who is recovering from a recent surgery, issued a brief response in an e-mail Friday.
"The animals were abandoned, starving and dying and after receiving permission from Lichfield to remove them, they were removed," Mann said. "They are now healthy, happy and safe and I have no further comment on the matter."
Mann has previously said that he received an anonymous tip in August about starving horses and sheep on the Carolina Springs Academy property. Upon visiting the property, Mann said, he discovered "the worst case of animal abuse I've been involved in."
Besides finding malnourished livestock, Mann said, he photographed numerous skeletal remains on the property.
After consulting with Mann, Eighth Judicial Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace asked the State Law Enforcement Division for assistance in investigating allegations of animal cruelty at the Carolina Springs property. A national animal rights group also expressed interest in the case.
Abbeville County Council members voiced concern about the fate of livestock at Carolina Springs Academy after viewing Mann's photos at an Oct. 11 meeting.
During an interview Thursday night, Lichfield denied that any livestock on his property had been abandoned, neglected or abused. He said Elaine Davis, the former director of Carolina Springs Academy, fed the animals regularly.
"They're my animals — they're my babies," Lichfield said. "I love animals."
When he was first contacted by Mann in August, Lichfield said, he gave him permission to remove some ailing sheep and a Peruvian stallion.
After returning from a trip to Utah, Lichfield said, he visited his property in early September and was surprised to see Mann removing more animals that appeared perfectly healthy. Lichfield said Mann threatened to contact Abbeville County authorities unless he agreed not to interfere.
Lichfield said the dead animals that Mann photographed on the Carolina Springs Academy property probably succumbed to blue tongue disease.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, blue tongue disease is an insect-borne viral illness that primarily affects sheep and occasionally goats and deer.
Abbeville veterinarian Melinda Gray said Friday that she has not heard about or treated any cases of blue tongue disease during the past decade.
© 2010 Anderson Independent Mail.