By Kate Bouey

Guilty plea in animal neglect case

Jul 31, 2020 | 11:54 AM

An animal abuse case in the North Okanagan that caught the public’s attention last year has finally come to an end.

The B.C. Prosecution Service says a North Okanagan woman, Carla Jean Christman, pleaded guilty to wilfully failing or neglecting to provide adequate food, water, shelter and care for domestic animals.

In March of last year, 50 neglected animals were seized from Christman’s ranch just north of Vernon, including dozens of horses as well as some dogs and pigs.

At the time, both Christman and her daughter, Chelsea Beluse-Christman, were charged with causing unnecessary pain and suffering to an animal and failing to provide necessities for an animal.

The trial was expected to be heard in Vernon Provincial Court but that changed Thursday when Christman entered her guilty plea, said Dan McLaughlin, communications counsel for the B.C. Prosecution Service.