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A Kootenay woman who tied a piece of string around a goat's scrotum to "curb his hormones" has lost an appeal to get her animals back.

According to an April 25 BC Farm Industry Review Board decision, the BCSPCA received a complaint that the goat's owner, Leila Martin, was trying to castrate the male goat in an "inappropriate" manner.

When SPCA officers arrived at the West Kootenay property in November 2022, they found two pregnant goats along with a third that had a piece of string tied around its scrotum.

The living conditions for the animals were covered in feces and the goats had little access to fresh water.

"The animals were deprived of proper nutrition, sufficient water, and veterinary care and their physical environment was both hazardous and unsanitary," BC Farm Industry Review Board says in the decision.

According to the decision, the SPCA had been called out to Martin's property located in Procter, about 35 kilometres east of Nelson, on seven occasions.

A couple of months earlier, a complaint came in about a dead dog on the property.

The decision says after SPCA officers found the string around the goat's scrotum, they removed it and left Martin with a warning that the place had to be cleaned up within a week. The SPCA also says the three goats, Jack, Lenoria, and Daylight, must have access to fresh water at all times. Martin had argued that snow and one cup of warm water each day were sufficient.

Two months later the SPCA received another complaint that the male goat, Jack, was dead.

Martin told the SPCA that Jack had broken his neck and was unable to move.

"She stated that she had considered chopping the goat’s head off, but instead had poured olive oil down its throat," the decision says.

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Martin testified that she used the olive oil as a remedy for his partial paralysis, and did not call a vet. A vet later testified that giving the goat cooking oil would kill it, but it would likely take seven hours to do so. The SPCA officers later found the dead goat on a nearby hiking trail. It had been skinned.

The two remaining goats were then seized by the BC SPCA. Both goats were found to be in rough shape.

READ MORE: Kootenay woman who left dead dog in yard loses other pets

Martin appealed to get her animals back, but the Board refused.

"(Martin) does things that are questionable and don’t seem to be in line with common sense and then argues with the (SPCA) officers when they try to explain their reasoning behind the suggestions. Similarly, she chose to argue with (the vet), rather than accepting the... evidence as an opportunity to learn," the Board rules.

The Board continues to criticize the handling of Jack's death.

"(Martin) failed to call a veterinarian, and instead administered some form of cooking oil which caused the animal to suffer before it died," the Board says. "The entire incident demonstrates (Martin’s) inability to make reasonable decisions when problems arise."

The Board says Martin had failed in the basic issues of goat husbandry, such as giving them fresh water and that giving her the two other goats back would "invariably" lead to more neglect.

READ MORE: Dog that regularly ingested fentanyl and meth seized by B.C. SPCA

Ultimately, the Board refuses to give Martin her goats back and orders her to pay $10,000 in costs.

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