‘We didn’t starve the horses’: Allegations of neglect at Manitoba animal sanctuary

Manitoba animal lovers are raising concerns over the wellbeing of animals at a sanctuary north of Winnipeg.

Ashley Wiebe says her experience with the Barefoot Ranch in Teulon was “devastating.”

Wiebe says she sent her goats to live at the ranch earlier this year after selling her family farm, feeling it would be a perfect new home for her beloved animals.

But after discovering numerous complaints against the sanctuary online, Wiebe decided to take her goats back. She claims she found them in far worse shape than when they first arrived at Barefoot.

“They were thin, you could see their boney structures along their back and hips,” Wiebe told CityNews.

“For so much life, it was so lifeless.

“It was really devastating, I wanted to take all the animals.”

Wiebe’s experience was seemingly not unique, as commenters of the Manitoba Equine Enthusiasts Facebook page share several other allegations of starving animals.

The owner of the Barefoot Ranch is strongly denying the allegations.

“We didn’t starve the horses,” Sherri Anderson said. “I have all the records from all of the feed and the vets.

“And everything and this is just from 2023 and 2024,” she added, holding up a folder with documents.

Anderson, who began taking in unwanted animals in 2016, says claims of starving animals were due to an outbreak of a highly contagious bacterial infection known as strangles.

“Some of them recover immediately, some take a couple months, some take several months, and unfortunately that strangles was a huge setback,” she said.

The Provincial Vet has confirmed they are investigating the conditions at the Barefoot Ranch. Anderson says she is fully complying with the probe.

“I don’t have a problem with them doing their job,” she said. “We get them to come in, show them around, we show everything that we’re doing. And they always have feedback – it’s never ‘oh you’re perfect’ – they always have feedback, and we do our best to incorporate what they are asking of us.”

But Wiebe remains concerned about the animals’ wellbeing.

“The animals are not doing well and somebody needs to advocate for them.”