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Mark S. Fisher, 37 of Quarryville, was arrested following an investigation conducted by the PSPCA and the Lancaster District Attorney’s office into an Aug. 30 anonymous tip of animal cruelty.
The tip, stating a horse was limping, and possibly had a dislocated leg at a property in Quarryville, was left on a hotline phone to PSPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement team.
During the course of the investigation officers found an underweight horse in an overgrown pasture with its ankle bent in a manner causing it to have extreme difficulty walking.
After interviewing the owner, Fisher, told officials the horse had been hit by a car in early 2020 and no veterinary care had been sought.
This made the horse unable to put weight on the injured leg, making the entire gait off, says PSPCA. The gait issue forced her to put too much pressure on her front legs, ending up relying on her back legs to hobble along.
Upon seeing her condition the officer ordered fisher to take the house to a veterinarian to “end the horse’s ongoing suffering as soon as possible,” as stated in a release from the PSPCA.
Instead, Fisher opted to euthanize the horse himself by walking it up a hill and shooting it.
Fisher has been charged with two felony counts of animal cruelty according to court documents.
The criminal complaint the PSPCA filed states Fisher “knowingly and intentionally tortured a Morgan horse, causing it to endure a prolonged period of pain and suffering.”
“The suffering of the beautiful animal involved in this case is heartbreaking,” said Nicole Wilson, Director of Humane Law Enforcement & Shelter Operations at the Pennsylvania SPCA. “For months instead of providing veterinary care or euthanizing the filly to ease her pain, her owner forced her to suffer in silence. The images of this poor horse walking while so physically broken are excruciating. We are seeking justice in her name to the fullest extent of the law.”
Fisher’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 24 at 2 p.m.
He is currently out on $5,000 in bail.
He is listed as a ferrier on the Cross Road Tack Shop website.
Anyone with information about this case or other cases involving animal cruelty, is urged to call the Pennsylvania SPCA’s Cruelty Hotline at (866) 601-SPCA. Tips can be left anonymously.
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