Charges dropped against former Safe Harbor director

Misdemeanor charges of animal abuse were dropped Thursday against Alice Wybert, the former president of Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary, a no-kill shelter near Jackson.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Limbaugh dismissed the charges, according to a news release from his office, because of a consent judgment agreement recently reached between Wybert and the Missouri attorney general's office.

The judgment, the release stated, "imposed significant penalties upon Ms. Wybert."

Wybert said Thursday evening she was happy the charges had been dropped.

"I'm no criminal," Wybert said. "I was never abusive or neglectful."

A case filed against Wybert and the shelter in October by the attorney general's office alleged violations of the Animal Care Facilities Act in 2013 and 2014, including failures to take sick animals to a veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment; maintain health records for the animals; follow cat housing requirements; maintain clean housing facilities; and identify the animals properly.

The charges against Wybert stemmed from the deaths of two of the shelter's cats, John Otis and Midnight, in 2014. Wybert was accused of knowingly failing to provide adequate care for the cats.

She told the Southeast Missourian in April the charges were misplaced, and she hoped they would be dropped soon.

The consent judgment, signed by shelter board members and Wybert earlier this month and approved by a judge last week, requires the shelter to send all its cats to licensed shelters or rescues and set special rules for the shelter to obtain a new license through the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

Wybert and the shelter also were fined.

Wybert also must withdraw from all activities associated with the shelter aside from soliciting and delivering donations of food and other animal-support items to the facility.

She is prohibited from owning, operating, volunteering, being employed by, assisting or managing any entity that requires a state license under the Animal Care Facilities Act.

kwebster@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

359 Cree Lane, Jackson, MO