LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A Drew County man has been charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals in the beating death of a horse.
Authorities say 20-year-old Benjamin Briney is accused of beating the horse with a wooden baseball bat in a wooded area near Monticello.
Arkansas Humane Society director Desiree Bender says Briney is likely one of the first - if not the first - person in Arkansas charged under the state's new felony animal cruelty law.
Drew County Sheriff Mark Gober says Briney was caring for the horse when it was attacked by another animal and was bleeding from the ears. Gober says the horse's owner told Briney he should "get rid" of the animal so he beat it to death.
Gober did not release the name of the horse's owner but says he has interviewed her.
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com
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