A measure of justice has been served in South Carolina, where, following PETA's undercover investigation, the woman who fatally neglected cats at the now-thankfully defunct Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary (SVAS) outside Myrtle Beach was convicted of violating a county animal-care ordinance this morning before Magistrate Margie Bellamy Livingston. Elizabeth Owen, who didn't even bother to show up but instead submitted her plea in writing, was fined $500 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, but both were suspended.

Legal Action—and Inaction

In March 2011, a Horry County judge ordered the seizure of a dog and approximately 240 cats from Owen—many of whom were suffering from painful conditions, such as anal maggots, herpes, tumors, seizures, abdominal abscesses, and severe gum disease. Nearly half of the animals had to be euthanized to alleviate their suffering.

County officials returned the dog and 30 cats to Owen. And then it got worse: County officials did not make good on promises to check on those animals' welfare. Meanwhile, Owen left the state—in violation of her bond, according to a prosecutor—and evidently took those animals with her. Although PETA's investigatory evidence was passed between four attorneys in the 15th Circuit Solicitor's Office, none of them filed state cruelty-to-animals charges against Owen. No other jurisdiction has ever failed to file charges based on such strong evidence against a hoarder still in possession of animals.

Sick 'Sanctuaries'

As with many so-called "no-kill" operations, SVAS was merely a cover for an animal hoarder. Owen knowingly deprived suffering cats of veterinary care—even refusing offers of free emergency treatment for dying cats—and stated that she would rather let the cats die at the facility than have them taken by officials.

In a disturbing twist, just before most of her animals were seized, Owen sent approximately 25 cats to Caboodle Ranch, another horrific "no-kill" cat "sanctuary," in Florida. Based on evidence gathered in a separate PETA investigation, officials there seized nearly 700 cats and arrested and charged Caboodle's founder and operator, Craig Grant, with felony cruelty to animals.

The recidivism rate for animal hoarders like Owen is virtually 100 percent. The failure of Owen's sentence to prevent her from causing more animals to suffer and die exposes a critical weakness in South Carolina law, which lacks a commonsense provision—found in most other states' laws—prohibiting convicted cruelty offenders from owning or possessing any animals.

How You Can Help Animals Harmed by 'No-Kill' Hoarders

Craig Grant and Caboodle Ranch continue to ask the public for donations, including money to pay Grant's legal fees. Ask Florida officials to cancel Caboodle's registration to solicit contributions.

Please join PETA in calling for legislation that would enable all South Carolina courts to bar those convicted of cruelty from having animals.

Earlier this week, following PETA's undercover investigation of a Myrtle Beach–area hoarding facility that had been warehousing hundreds of cats and an arthritic dog named Hope in storage units, roughly 240 cats and the dog were seized from Elizabeth Owen by order of a Horry County judge. Roughly half the cats who were seized were so ill that they had to be put out of their misery.

The cats had been "stored," some for most or all of their lives, in filthy, cramped cages, unable to get away from their own waste or even stretch or walk, let alone enjoy life. Dozens of cats were suffering from chronic, painful conditions such as anal maggots, herpes, tumors, seizures, multiple abdominal abscesses, severe gum disease, and more. Some people are criticizing county officials for euthanizing the sickest cats, but the real outrage is that these cats had been allowed to suffer and languish for so long with no quality of life whatsoever. If the cats were too far gone to save, it is because of the long-term neglect that Owen subjected them to—neglect that merits state-level cruelty-to-animals charges and a prohibition on obtaining any more animals. Hoarders are notorious for starting back up where they left off if such judicial measures aren't taken.

Unfortunately, after Owen's attorney told the judge that Hope and about 30 of the cats were Owen's "personal pets," the judge agreed to have them returned to Owen's custody, following a medical exam by the county's contract veterinarian. Hope, who is old and suffering from painful arthritis, is mostly kept in one of the storage units in a small pen and on a cold, hard cement floor or tethered outside in front of the warehouse. Owen has been ordered to provide the animals with veterinary care at her own expense, but it remains to be seen if she will do so. Owen couldn't manage to keep the facility stocked with litter or food, let alone take ailing and even dying animals for veterinary care or euthanasia. Her current registration to solicit charitable funds has been suspended by the Office of the Secretary of State, which means she cannot lawfully solicit donations or items to sell in her thrift store. If the medical condition of the 107 cats whom the county was forced to euthanize are any indication, the 30 animals who went back to that hellhole are doomed.

Not surprisingly, the 101 feline survivors who remain in the county's temporary shelter facility are also sick. The county is providing veterinary care for them, and PETA is hopeful that once they recover, they will find happiness with responsible families who will give them all the love, attention, and catnip they need and deserve.

Written by Daphna Nachminovitch

Update: After receiving evidence from PETA's six-month undercover investigation at Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary, Judge Bradley Mayers ordered the removal of all animals from the facility. More information regarding these new developments will be made available in the coming days.

Some 300 cats are suffering in filthy wire cages stacked inside dark, unventilated, ammonia-filled storage units at the grotesquely misnamed Sacred Vision Animal Sanctuary (SVAS) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. PETA has submitted a formal complaint to the local prosecutor and is calling for the cats to be seized immediately. 

PETA' s undercover investigator recorded systematic, severe, and often fatal neglect of cats at SVAS, where some cats have lived in these miserable conditions for years. Our findings include evidence that SVAS owner and operator Elizabeth Owen knowingly deprives severely sick, injured, and suffering cats of veterinary attention for conditions including advanced upper respiratory infections, conjunctivitis, seizures, diabetes, gaping and infected wounds, torn ligaments, internal and external parasites, and painful dental conditions—and the list goes on and on. She even refused offers of free emergency care for dying cats. Owen was charged with violating the local animal care and treatment ordinance in September, but the case has been continued four times since, leaving the cats to suffer day in and day out.

Olaf–who is missing most of one eye and has an unsutured, irritated wound–has never been taken to the veterinarian. He's one of the many sad cases at SVAS.

Please take a moment to e-mail Horry County prosecutor Greg Hembree and politely ask him to pursue the seizure of all cats from SVAS and to file cruelty-to-animals charges against Elizabeth Owen.

Written by Michelle Sherrow