An animal welfare organization seized 101 starving horses from an Alberta ranch, but it was too late for 29 others that died of appalling neglect.

Nilsson Bros. was asked by the Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to seize the surviving horses and take them to its feedlot to recover and prepare for auction, the auctioneer said Sunday.

One of 101 horses rescued from a central Alberta farm where 29 prized Arabian horses starved to death. Some of the surviving horses will be adopted and others will be slaughtered.
(CBC)

"We do whatever we can to get the animals fixed up," said Garth Rogers, a manager at Nilsson Bros. "I have zero compassion for people who don't feed them."

The animals, mostly Arabian horses, were rescued in late February from a ranch near Andrew, about 100 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, owned by Axel Hinz-Schleuter.

In August 2005, the SPCA fined Axel Hinz-Schleuter $1,000 after repeated warnings to take better care of the animals. According to an Alberta SPCA newsletter, the horses were so underfed that "many were in distress."

Cody Hrehorets, who transported the surviving animals, described their living conditions at the ranch as appalling.

"They didn't have any feed or water or nothing. But the worst part was the barn — it was so full of manure that you couldn't stand it and the ammonia smell was actually killing animals."

The Alberta SPCA was unavailable for comment and the RCMP has not announced an investigation. Calls to Axel Hinz-Schleuter were not answered.

With files from the Canadian Press