North Branch woman convicted of mistreating, neglecting horses after nearly 3-year legal battle

A North Branch woman is scheduled to be sentenced in December after being convicted of misdemeanor animal cruelty for overworking and mistreating her horses. Documents say 11 of the horses that were seized were treated for various health issues.

According to a complaint filed in the autumn of 2019, Animal Humane Society Investigator Amanda Oquist visited the property of Carmen Burth, now 61, four times before authorities obtained a search warrant to medically evaluate her horses.

A Sunrise Equine veterinarian examined 20 horses, determining 11 needed to be taken because they were suffering from one or more of the following issues: having overgrown hooves, having a skin infection called rain rot, having mouth ulcers, suffering from muscle wasting, having knotted manes and tails, hosting numbers of bot fly eggs, hosting lice, hosting intestinal parasites, having tooth issues requiring dental work, and possibly suffering from pneumonia.

Investigators also examined the horses’ food and found that it was of low nutritional quality and was gray in some areas from mold. The complaint details Oquist repeatedly advising that Burth’s horses had visible bone structures, such as protruding ribs, and needed to be fed more.

After the investigations by North Branch police and animal welfare experts, Burth was charged with one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Specifically, she was accused of overworking and mistreating the animals, including depriving them of basic needs.

Burth pleaded not guilty in January of 2020, the early end of a legal battle that lasted nearly three years.

The state made a motion to add nine additional misdemeanor counts due to the amount of evidence and animals involved.

“This case involves the seizure of 11 horses and an investigation surrounding a large herd that originally began with twenty-one horses, before the death of one. The State made a discretionary decision to charge one count and penned a Complaint given the serious nature and depth of the case, outlining its evidence and the seizure of 11 horses,” prosecutors wrote.

“If the Court denies the State’s Motion to amend its Complaint to add the additional counts, there is a substantial risk that the full nature of the facts and evidence is not able to be presented, which would have a critical impact on the trial and the State’s ability to fairly put its evidence and full case before a jury.”

Despite efforts, Burth’s attorneys had already demanded a speedy trial, saying, “The State’s requested motion greatly prejudices the Defendant in a number of ways.”  

On Oct. 12, 2022, Burth was convicted of the singular misdemeanor charge. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5.

The Animal Humane Society said, as the “only full-time humane investigators in Minnesota,” its agents have worked with law enforcement to address nearly 1,000 cases in the past year that involved more than 7,000 animals.

“AHS humane investigation agents… received more than 1,700 reports of neglected or harmed animals in the last year. Working in 87 counties with local law enforcement officials, this team addressed more than 970 cases involving more than 7,000 animals. The work on this case and many others, is funded by donations from animal lovers across Minnesota and Wisconsin,” AHS said in a statement.