Ohio group needs hay for animals at sanctuary

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals lacks sufficient hay to feed animals on its Pickaway County sanctuary through the winter, the organizations director said.

The society currently has 14 bales of hay, far short of the 900 to 1,000 bales that director Teresa Landon said will be needed to feed about 30 goats, two horses and a cow living on the farm through the winter.

“Now, we’ve stopped taking in any more rescued animals and we won’t know beyond the next week how I’ll feed the ones we have,” Landon said.

The farm usually relies on hay grown on about 30 acres of the private farm near Circleville that also houses the animals, but Landon said this year another farmer harvested the hay and did not leave any for the SPCA.

A bad growing season meant there was no second cutting of hay, and prices from other suppliers are too expensive for the organization to afford. The organization needs to raise about $6,000 to buy enough hay to last until spring.

Landon is rotating pastures in hopes the animals, many abused before coming to the SPCA, will be able to graze through the winter.

“They’ve already escaped one bad fate,” Landon said. “I can’t let them starve to death now.”