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Shannon Rice-Nichols ran a farm with 35 animals, and in March 2022, authorities were called in to investigate it after several people said her animals were emaciated and sickly, the Northwestern District Attorney's Office said.
Massachusetts Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found the animals were malnourished and riddled with parasites. Authorities took custody of 22 goats, a Holstein cow, and eight rare Kerry cattle, a critically endangered species from Ireland, authorities said.
Two goats and a cow were so sick they were put down.
Rice-Nichols pleaded guilty to three counts of animal cruelty in exchange for the DA's office dropping the other 32 counts against her, the prosecutor said.
Friends of Rice-Nichols created a GoFundMe for her in 2021 after they said she suffered a serious injury and was unable to tend to her farm alone. They did not disclose the nature of the wound.
The fundraiser, called Buy A Farmer Time To Heal, raised just under $3,500 of its $5,000 goal. In an update post, Rice-Nichols wrote that the money had helped her hire some help to maintain the farm.
It's unclear if her injury played a role in the neglect of her animals, but up until then, she had been giving away fresh eggs, milk, and other items from her farm to people struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, the fundraiser said.
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