A Palmyra man was arrested on Monday (5/23) after he shot a 15 year-old horse named Annie Oakley (by rescue personnel) on Thursday (5/19).
The incident began on Wednesday (5/11) when two horses escaped a pasture under the care of Judy G. Decker, age 66, of 2895 Route 21 in Palmyra. She told police she did not own the white Arab mare, nor the brown Arab (Annie Oakley) and was just pasturing them until they found a permanent home, so they would not go to the meat market.
An hour after taking possession of the two horses, both the horses escaped. The white mare was captured in the area of Route 21 and Goldsmith Road. That Saturday the other horse was spotted on the property of Andrew M. Steemsma, age 55, of 3084 Newark Marion Road in Palmyra. After a conversation with Steemsma about what to do with the horse, he told the searchers to leave the property and he would take care of the situation by shooting the horse. Decker agreed that would be the best solution rather than have the animal run loose.
Steemsma reportedly shot the horse in the shoulder, only wounding the animal. The limping animal was later captured by animal rescue personnel. Wayne County District Attorney, Rick Healy questioned why anyone would think the solution to an escaped horse was shooting it.
Following an investigation, State Police charged Steemsma with the Class A misdemeanor of Animal Cruelty for shooting the animal on Sunday (5/15). He was released on an appearance ticket for Palmyra Town Court on June 15th.
Annie Oakley was seen by veterinarian Dr. David Trachtenberg, who observed the animal still had fragments of the slug in her shoulder, but was otherwise in fine shape and responding well. He, along with veterinarians at Cornell decided the best treatment at this time was antibiotic.
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