74 animals confirmed dead on Nebraska ranch

MORRILL COUNTY, Neb. - The Sheriff's office has documented 74 horses and burros died on 3-Strikes Ranch just outside of Alliance, Nebraska. The ranch's owner is accused of starving the animals to death.

The findings come after the two Morrill County Sheriff's deputies canvassed the ranch with four wheelers after obtaining a search warrant on April 21.

The ranch owner, 42-year-old Jason Meduna was arrested 4 days prior for one count of animal cruelty for the death of a three-year-old filly.

Following his release from jail, Meduna relinquished the rights to his horses, to Habitat for Horses and Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue. The horses were then removed from his property.

Meduna told 9NEWS he had around 300 horses in his care in January. The Morrill County Sheriff's office says rescuers removed 211 horses, burros, and mules.

Around 200 of Meduna's horses were purchased from the Bureau of Land Management. According to BLM records, Meduna bought his first 30 head in 2005 for $50 each, and the rest were $10.

Jodi Messenich with Zuma's Rescue Ranch in Littleton says it appears Meduna got in over his head.

"He took on more than his land could handle without hay for the winter," She said.

Meduna says a harsh winter and drought conditions have taken a toll, but he's done everything he could to feed his horses. "We made our own hay, we'd buy hay, we used an excessive amount of hay this year. My wife was working two full time jobs so that we could make sure everything was well maintained with the horses," said Meduna.

The BLM performed two inspections of the ranch in 2008, the last one in August and reported the horses in good condition. However, when an inspector returned to the ranch on April 14th he found 175 horses corralled did not have enough feed, and the ranch land was overgrazed.

"I know it's not that," said Meduna of why his horses are dying. "I really don't care what people are saying, what I care about is hey, maybe we ought to focus on the problem."

Meduna says the horses that are still alive aren't starving, they're sick. He believes someone has poisoned them. Test results are now being processed to see if that could be true.

For now, the county is seeing that Meduna's horses get the care they need. On Saturday the animals, which are being held at the fairgrounds in Bridgeport about 55 miles south of 3-Strikes Ranch, were photographed, examined, and had blood drawn.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau donated 12 tons of hay to feed the animals. No word yet on when the horses will be moved or where they will go.