A Bucks County farm owner who police say neglected more than 100 animals faces criminal charges in one of the worst examples of animal abuse in the county

An Upper Bucks County farmer who investigators said presided over squalid, horrible conditions from which 127 animals were rescued now faces criminal charges in a case humane officers described as one of the worst examples of animal abuse in county history.

Abigail Tuttle O’Keeffe, 53, was charged on New Year’s Eve with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals as well as 148 counts of neglect to animals for the livestock she is accused of abandoning on Narrow Way Farm, her 36-acre property in Wrightstown.

O’Keeffe had not been arrested as of Thursday. Investigators are not sure if she is even in the country — O’Keeffe announced on social media in July that she was moving to Belize. Investigators wrote in court filings this week that she has “no plans to return.”

However, she racked up two traffic tickets in Warrington Township in September, months after publicly claiming she was moving to the tropical country. O’Keeffe was pulled over Sept. 20 for driving without a license and operating a vehicle without an inspection, court records show.

On Aug. 7, the Bucks County SPCA served a search warrant on O’Keeffe’s property after a farm manager there notified the agency that a sheep had been found dead, according to the affidavit of probable cause for her arrest.

Officers rescued more than 100 pigs, goats, and sheep, many of which were suffering from infections, parasites, and other chronic medical conditions. One severely emaciated goat died while investigators were searching the property. Another one was so malnourished and riddled with parasites that she had to be euthanized after weeks of intensive care, the affidavit said.

Volunteers who spoke with The Inquirer in August after the animals were rescued said O’Keeffe had no experience operating a farm and ran it in an absentee, chaotic manner. She often recruited community members to perform even the most basic tasks for her.

One nearby farm owner said O’Keeffe, who has a degree in developmental psychology, is “not a real active farmer.”

In one 2022 incident, corroborated by multiple former Narrow Way staffers, workers “botched” the dehorning of an 8-month-old Jersey calf, Kiwi, cutting the horn too far down and leaving lasting nerve damage around the animal’s eye. The calf was later butchered.

Farm staff told investigators they had previously expressed their concerns to O’Keeffe after other animals had died. In response, she had instructed them to give the animals over-the-counter deworming medication, rather than bring in proper veterinary care, according to the affidavit.

The animals also had been fed a cheap milling by-product that had virtually no nutritional value, making their underlying health conditions even worse.

Cindy Kelly, the director of communication and development for the county SPCA, said Thursday that 36 of the Narrow Way animals remain in the agency’s care, being treated at its facility in Quakertown. The remainder have been adopted into new homes, from which Kelly said she often receives pictures and videos of them eating pumpkins, roaming freely, and living significantly healthier lives.

“I think the thing about this case is the scale,” Kelly said. “We see animals living in some pretty horrendous conditions; that in itself is not unique. But it’s the large number of animals involved, and also the chronic nature of this, that sets it apart.

“These were animals living in filthy conditions for a long time, eating poor-quality food for a long time, and receiving very minimal vet care, if any, for a long time,” she added.

Days after the SPCA removed the animals, the Newtown Township Police Department seized 73 pounds of marijuana and eight firearms, more criminal offenses that O’Keeffe may need to answer for.