Apex House Where Sheep Were Seized Is Condemned

APEX, N.C. — The town of Apex on Wednesday condemned a house where animal control seized more than 70 neglected sheep last week.

Inspectors found holes in the ceiling, broken windows and no running water on the first floor of the house owned by David Watts at 205 W. Moore St.

Watts has until Tuesday to fix the issues, including removing carcasses and bones from around the house. He is also required to scrape the ground clean to eliminate the smell.

If he does not meet the deadline, the town will hire a contractor for the cleanup and send the Watts the bill. If he does not pay the bill, the town will go after a lien against the property.

Watts faces 30 counts of animal cruelty after 30 of his sheep were euthanized because they were severely ill. If convicted, he faces up to 45 days in jail on each count.

On March 26, police found 78 sheep living inside and outside of Watts' property near downtown Apex.

Thirty-five sheep were taken to a local farm to be nursed back to health. Fifteen were being watched by a rescue group. After they recover, they will be put up for adoption.

On Tuesday, the Apex Town Council approved a new ordinance banning all livestock, with the exception of horses, within the town limits. It takes effect June 1.

31 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

VIEW ALL 31 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments

With all the sheep being euthanized, where will all the chapel Hill types get their fun?

Lizard Paw
April 5, 2007 7:14 p.m.

Hmmm...take a man's animals. Take his house. Take his land. And then liberals wonder why some folks pick up an AK-47 and shoot their way into a city council meeting...

Steve Crisp
April 5, 2007 4:40 p.m.

If this man has legal NC farm status for this property, then he has the right to construct any building on his farm property for his personal use he wants without a building permit, and he is not bound by any building codes or inspections. I would imagine this same privilege extends to the building's maintenance (I've seen 100's of NC farms with broken down barns and houses). If this is a farm, then the Town of Apex does not have the right to condemn, ESPECIALLY if the shelter were constructed before the town annexed it.