Charges filed, animals removed from Cedarburg farm after volunteers allege neglect

Coreen Leffler first brought her daughter to the Autumn Farm Sanctuary in Cedarburg to show her what it takes to care for animals ― an experience Leffler had growing up on a farm.

It was October 2020, and Leffler was thrilled to have found a local animal sanctuary to volunteer at ― and it also accepted children volunteers. She brought along others in the neighborhood to share the joys of farm life with other families in her community, she said.

But within a year, Leffler started to notice basic issues with the farm's upkeep, empty food and water containers and the owners' lack of presence on the farm. Most importantly, Leffler noticed many of the animals weren't getting the veterinary care they needed.

She wasn't the only one.

Several former volunteers came forward with reports of neglect.

It led to an investigation by authorities, resulted in criminal charges being filed and the animals being rehomed.

Since January, the Autumn Farm Sanctuary has been at the center of an Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office investigation into volunteer reports of animals with worsening health situations and living in declining conditions without adequate food or water, according to a statement from Undersheriff Marshall Hermann.

On April 20, the sheriff's office executed a search warrant, removing and rehoming all animals at the sanctuary, created in 2014 to serve as a safe-haven for farm animals, including pigs, goats, chickens, ducks and turkeys.

On April 29, Holly Rose Herbst, a co-owner of the farm at 4433 Lakefield Road, was charged with two criminal counts, according to the complaint: mistreating animals - intentional or negligent violation; and failure to provide proper drink to confined animals. If convicted on both counts, Herbst could face up to 18 months in prison and $20,000 in fines. She is set to appear in court on May 13.

Several attempts to reach the two owners, Holly Rose Herbst and Alyssa Herbst, including four phone calls and two emails, were unsuccessful.

When asked why Alyssa Herbst wasn’t charged, Hermann said charges were forwarded for Holly Herbst because she was the current occupant of the residence and primary caretaker of the animals at the sanctuary during the time of the investigation.

Here's what we know about the farm based on the complaint and interviews the Journal Sentinel conducted with almost a dozen former volunteers.

Former volunteers brought the neglect to light

The animals' rehoming came nearly a month after concerned volunteers started publicly chronicling their experiences and sharing documentation of the conditions on a Facebook page called " Neglect at Autumn Farm Sanctuary ," which was first reported by TMJ4 .

Former volunteer Julie Gilmore told the Journal Sentinel that animals on the farm were getting sick and dying at a much faster pace than normal, including a 1-year-old goat who died in the fall of 2023.

"This was supposed to be a sanctuary, and it's anything but that. These animals have been in, to me, a living hell," she said.

The Facebook page's organizer, volunteer Erin Hammock, said it was emotionally difficult to watch the animals she'd formed bonds with struggle, and felt volunteers took on an immense burden in taking responsibility for their care ― responsibility she didn't see reflected back from the owners in the last few years.

When Gilmore and Hammock started volunteering in 2016, the owners had good intentions and plenty of supplies, they said. Hammock helped coordinate and train volunteers at the farm, including Leffler and her daughter.

Hammock said she felt embarrassed to be on the farm while observing conditions worsening. She felt obligated show up an hour before volunteer shifts to make sure the place was remotely presentable.

Gilmore said the animals weren't being socialized, many had injuries that went untreated, their weights were dropping significantly, and they were living in their own filth on the "so-called sanctuary."

"I've worked in many barns. I've worked with animals all my life. I have never seen conditions like this," she said. Gilmore has been horseback riding for most of her life on many different farms. She has also worked at the zoo and as a vet technician for 18 years.

Volunteers felt taken advantage of

As conditions on the farm deteriorated, almost all volunteers, including Hammock and Leffler, said they noticed fundraising efforts weren't going toward the animals.

In addition to taking care of the animals, the volunteers found themselves tasked with fundraising and promoting the farm. Leffler, Gilmore and Hammock said they noticed that even after big fundraising pushes, the conditions in the barn never improved, the broken equipment was never fixed and the food was never replenished.

As a result, Gilmore said the volunteers felt compelled to purchase food and supplies for animals using their own money.

"I remember seeing many of my own values were no longer aligning with theirs," Leffler said. "We continued to volunteer and take care of the animals until it was evident the owners were essentially doing nothing with the farm or animals and pushing volunteers to do everything."

Most volunteers said they logged their concerns in a shift journal and attempted to address them with the owners but were ignored.

"I felt very taken advantage of and it just became a place that I didn't really believe in the purpose," Leffler said. "I have hundreds of pictures of such great memories. But it was sad to see the farm (had) lost sight of its purpose."

The once-thriving farm fell into neglect amidst owners' divorce

The criminal complaint alleges that the once "thriving and well-kept" farm sanctuary deteriorated throughout 2022 and 2023, as the two owners were in the process of separating.

In January 2024, the two were in the midst of divorce proceedings and Alyssa had moved off the farm, leaving Holly, the defendant, the only owner on the property.

By the end of January, Detective Matthew Haas with the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office received reports from volunteers describing the neglect, alleging the farm was "struggling financially, relying on a limited remaining number of unpaid volunteers," according to the complaint.

The Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission learned of these reports and discussed rehoming the animals with the owners. According to the complaint, Alyssa Herbst was receptive, but Holly was resistant.

Authorities rehomed the animals after warnings

On Feb. 7, Ozaukee County law enforcement conducted an unannounced visit to the farm, accompanied by a MADACC veterinarian.

The veterinarian noted that the primary concern was regarding negligence in providing fresh clean water, food, shelter and veterinary care. The vet highly recommended rehoming some of the animals to help maintain the farm population.

After the visit, Haas told Holly that the conditions needed to improve on the property.

Shortly after, Holly informed Haas that an injury on one of the pigs had become infected to the point where the vet recommended euthanasia. The owners eventually agreed to rehome most of the animals, but Haas was later informed that they only relinquished a few, according to the complaint.

Additional reports of neglect flooded the sheriff's office in April, prompting a second unannounced visit to the farm. During that visit, Haas observed that conditions had not improved since February, and the veterinarian recommended that the animals be seized for their own welfare.

The Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office seized two turkeys, 34 chickens, three goats, three ducks and three pigs, according to the complaint.

Haas later learned from the Farm Bird Sanctuary in Edgerton, which was caring for the seized chickens, that several had died or had to be euthanized due to untreated illness or infections.

Farm's nonprofit dissolved in March after three years of delinquency

The owners created a nonprofit for their operation called Autumn Farm Sanctuary, Inc. in October of 2013, according to records from Wisconsin's Department of Financial Institutions.

Describing the entity in records filed with the DFI, the owners wrote, "We are a rescue for farmed animals, providing long term care for neglected, abused, and elderly animals. We also advocate for better treatment of animals," according to 2021 DFI filings.

The nonprofit was administratively dissolved on March 15, 2024. According to the certificate of dissolution from DFI, the owners either didn't file an annual report or pay associated fees. The corporation had been found delinquent in 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Hammock was one of the members on the nonprofit's board, but she called it a "sham."

"We never knew what happened to the money," she said. "They never showed the board how much money they had or where the money was going."

Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13 .

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Charges filed, animals removed from Cedarburg farm after volunteers allege neglect