A provincial investigation into a Scugog farm that was the centre of a social media uproar last month following allegations of animal cruelty has wrapped up after orders issued by the province were carried out.

Greg Flood, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General, said last week that concerns raised about a farm at 3121 Regional Rd. 21 (Shirley Rd.) have been dealt with, prompting the province to deem the investigation finished.

“Provincial inspectors issued orders and have since verified compliance with all orders issued,” said Flood in an email response Thursday. “The investigation is now closed.”

When reached by phone Friday morning, Flood said he had “no further information to share” about what types of orders were issued, how many and when because of privacy issues.

“I can confirm (orders) were issued and their compliance was followed up by inspectors,” said Flood, who declined to say when provincial inspectors returned to the Scugog farm to verify the orders were carried out.

Flood also said he was unaware of any charges being laid in relation to the animal-cruelty allegations.

No one answered Friday morning when a phone call was made to a listed number associated with the farm’s address.

Read more:

Police investigating report of alleged cruelty on farm in Scugog

OSPCA tells province it’ll no longer enforce animal cruelty laws

A video posted on July 30 by Dogs Tales Rescue and Sanctuary, a nonprofit shelter based in King City, led to calls from the public for police and provincial officials to investigate the farm. The video, almost 11 minutes long, shows cows and pigs in alleged states of distress living in squalid conditions as well as fields littered with the bones of dead cattle.

A day later, two inspectors with the province’s animal welfare operations unit attended the property along with Durham police. A veterinarian also attended the farm to examine the animals.

The conditions of the animals and state of the farm were thrust into the social media spotlight after Danielle Eden-Scheinberg, co-owner of Dog Tales, and others with her group were prompted to investigate the property after receiving screenshots of a dead calf and other distressed animals there.

On Friday, Eden-Scheinberg said the animals she brought to her sanctuary “are doing great” but scoffed at how the province handled the cruelty allegations.

“It’s like a joke to me. Unfortunately after everything we saw, they tell the owner to fix a few things and let him continue to own animals? That’s a big mistake in my eyes,” said Eden-Scheinberg. “There’s no protection for animals.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The OSPCA announced earlier this year that it would no longer be investigating animal abuse allegations, following a court ruling that found the group had improperly been given enforcement powers without proper oversight. In June, the province launched a 24-hour, animal-cruelty hotline.

Brent Ross, another solicitor general spokesperson, said last month that his ministry is “just in the baby steps of the interim regime” and that new animal welfare programs will arrive in January.