Animal Sanctuary Owner Charged With Animal Cruelty: Police

The owner of a South Jersey animal sanctuary faces multiple counts of child abuse following a search at her facility last week, authorities announced.

Sarah Rabinowitz, 62, of Waterford, has been charged with 57 counts of fourth-degree causing bodily injury to a living animal or creature by failing to provide the animals at the Labrador Hill Equine Sanctuary in Waterford Township with necessary care, according to authorities.

The facility houses about 70 animals, including horses and donkeys, among others, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.

She was also charged with five counts of animal cruelty, by failing as the owner or as a person otherwise charged with the care of a living animal or creature, to provide the living animal or creature with necessary care, a disorderly persons offense.

Rabinowitz was arrested following the execution of a search warrant at her facility on Friday, July 13, authorities said. She must also take immediate remedial measures to ensure the animals at her facility receive sufficient amounts of water and adequate sheltering, per a court mandate.

The search warrant was ordered after members of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office met with the Waterford Township Police Department, agents from the NJSPCA and a veterinarian from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture concerning an ongoing NJSPCA investigation into the conditions at the sanctuary, authorities said.

Rabinowitz was released with the mandated court order and is pending a future court date. Law enforcement, the Department of Agriculture, and the NJSPCA will be monitoring the situation daily, and the investigation is ongoing.

The attached image is a Patch file photo, and is not an image of a horse at the sanctuary, or of the sanctuary itself.