A western Nebraska rancher convicted of letting wild horses and burros starve has been released on parole.
Jason Meduna was released last month.
Meduna was convicted in January 2010 of 145 counts of animal
cruelty and was given two consecutive terms of 20-months-to-five
years, for a total of 40 months-to-10 years.
As part of his sentence, Meduna was barred from owning,
possessing or living with livestock for 30 years. But the Nebraska
Appeals Court struck down that provision last year.
Meduna owned the 3-Strikes mustang ranch south of Alliance,
where many of the horses and burros were found emaciated and
suffering from a variety of ailments in 2009. Dozens of animals
were found dead. The surviving horses and burros were given new
homes.
