A farm in Cedarburg — known as an animal rescue — is facing serious allegations of mistreatment.
The owners of Autumn Farm Sanctuary are the focus of an ongoing Ozaukee County Sheriff's investigation. TMJ4's Lighthouse Team is following both very closely.
Andrea Albers spoke to former volunteers who were the first to ring the alarm. Those volunteers have created a Facebook page to try and alert authorities, alleging that animals were living in filth, were being neglected without adequate food or water. Those volunteers claim several animals died or had to be euthanized as a result of their treatment.
"I know animals die," said Erin Hammock, a former volunteer coordinator for Autumn Farm Sanctuary. "I'm not saying animals live forever, but there are so many young animals there, healthy animals too, that have died."
Ozaukee County Sheriff's Detectives made an unannounced visit to Autumn Farm Sanctuary in February where they found evidence of negligence. A veterinarian who visited with the Sheriff's office directed the farm owners to re-home some of the larger animals and reported a lack of fresh water, empty feed bins, wounded animals and filthy living conditions.
Now, months later, a volunteer Andrea met with claims there has been no positive progress. She says she was able to visit Autumn Farm Sanctuary earlier this month and was heartbroken by what she saw.
"I have literally over 100 photos and pictures to show the filthy, filthy, weeks worth of feces that they're living in," said Julie Gilmore. "Barely any bedding, if none. Filthy water or just dried water bowls, to literally no food."
Andrea has the photos and vidoes Gilmore captured and will share them with you Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m.
She's also waiting for a call back from the Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office about what followup action detectives have taken since their last visit — including referring an animal mistreatment charge to the District Attorney's office. That charge has been pending since March 1st.
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