Allegations of dead and neglected animals are being looked into by Durham police and provincial inspectors after an animal welfare group posted a video this week of squalid conditions at a Blackstock-area farm.

Dogs Tales Rescue and Sanctuary posted a video on social media earlier this week showing various animals in distress, ranging from an emaciated-looking cow tied up inside a barn to pigs penned in muddy conditions, to the bones of dead cows scattered in a field. A woman narrating the video as she walks around with a camera phone notes that no water or food can be found at the farm.

Danielle Eden-Scheinberg, co-owner of Dog Tales, said she and others with her group were prompted to investigate the farm after receiving screen-shots of a dead calf and other distressed animals that were allegedly at the Blackstock property.

She said that Durham police officers attended the scene Monday after receiving reports of a dead cow and instructed the owner to bury the deceased animal.

“They just told him what to do and left. We needed to see what was going on because somebody needs to do something,” said Eden-Scheinberg.

That led to a Tuesday morning visit to the Scugog farm by Dog Tales, a non-profit shelter based in King City. There they met with the owner, an elderly man in his 80s, who identified himself as Harold Medd, said Eden-Scheinberg. He gave the group permission to roam his property and that’s where they discovered cattle bones all over a field.

“There was a huge field full of bones — the entire farm is full of cow bones,” said Eden-Scheinberg. “Every step you take, you’re just stepping on bones. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Inside a “run-down” barn, Eden-Scheinberg said, the group found five pigs in a cramped pen where they were forced to stand and lay in feces, as well as a cow with a chain so tight it was embedded in the animal’s neck.

“I couldn’t bear to see them in that situation, in that disgusting filthy area,” she said.

No one answered when a call was made Wednesday morning to a Medd residence listed on Shirley Rd.

Eden-Scheinberg said the man identified as the farm owner became agitated as the group wandered around his property and threatened to shoot them. Later, people believed to be his children showed up and also threatened to assault her and asked the Dog Tales members to leave, stating they were trespassing.

However, Eden-Scheinberg said she refused to leave until police returned to the property and an animal welfare inspector looked around the property.

“It was shocking and I’ve seen some bad conditions in my life,” said Eden-Scheinberg. “The pigs broke my heart and the amount of bones in the field, I’ve never seen that. Never, ever.”

What she found at the Blackstock farm, said Eden-Scheinberg, prompted her to take the rare step of offering to purchase some of the animals in an effort to provide them with the care needed. The deal, which she described as “a very high price with no negotiation,” saw Dog Tales take possession of the five pigs, two cows that were chained up and one sick calf.

In the video posted Tuesday after Eden-Scheinberg’s visit, people repeatedly stated that authorities, including police and provincial animal cruelty officers, had not attended the property to investigate their concerns.

After a social media uproar on Tuesday, however, Durham police announced in a late evening tweet that officers from North Division are “investigating the allegations of animal cruelty after a deceased cow was located at a farm on Regional Road 19 in Scugog.”

Police added that a local vet was attending the farm property Tuesday night to check on the health of the animals and that an investigator from the Ontario solicitor general’s animal welfare operations unit would be assisting.

“The health and welfare of these animals are paramount and we are working with our local agricultural partners and the community,” said Durham cops in the tweet.

On Wednesday morning, Const. George Tudos, a spokesperson for the Durham police, said that a provincial investigator was expected to attend the scene some time this week.

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

“Based on any investigation they give us and the vet’s report, we’ll move forward and come to a conclusion,” he said. “It’s alleged there is animal cruelty involved and we’ll wait for a report before we go any further.”

It’s unknown when the provincial investigator’s report will be in the hands of police, he added.

He confirmed that officers attended the farm Monday after receiving a report of a dead cow. Cops returned Tuesday “to keep the peace after a dispute on the property,” but did not investigate the cruelty allegations, said Tudos.