Former Texas A&M veterinarian and associate professor Ashlee Watts was found guilty of livestock cruelty by a Brazos County jury on Oct. 2. The crime is a state jail felony offense with a punishment of a fine up to $10,000 or up to two years in state jail. 

Prosecutors indicted Watts in October 2021 after claiming she used a cattle prod excessively on a horse under her care named Allie, eventually leading to the 16-year-old mare’s death. A cattle prod is a handheld device typically used to control cattle or other livestock through electric shocks.

According to the official report from the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, the incident occurred in December 2019 at the A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. At the time, Watts worked in the Large Animal Clinical Sciences Department in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.

Allie was put under Watts’s care after her owners brought her to the hospital. Watts sedated her to treat an infection in one of her hooves, but, according to the report, Allie could not stand after waking up. Extended periods of inactivity in horses can cause life-threatening issues. 

To get Allie to stand, Watts resorted to shocking her neck, sides, belly, flanks, muzzle and mouth with the cattle prod, all of which was recorded by a surveillance camera in the room, according to the report. In an interview with the state board, one witness said it was clear early on that the shocks were ineffective — rather, they were “prolonging the inevitable in the worst way possible.” 

After more than 30 minutes, with a roughly seven-minute break in the middle, Watts left the room, and Allie died approximately an hour and a half later. A veterinary technician filed a complaint with the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, which revoked Watts’s veterinary medicine license earlier this year.

An A&M spokesperson told The Chronicle of the Horse, an equestrian magazine covering the case, that Watts’s teaching and hospital responsibilities ended in October 2021. However, she stayed employed at the university as a tenured researcher before retiring in October 2022. 

“Texas A&M does not permit the use of cattle prods on horses, and Dr. Watts was held accountable in a manner that reflects the seriousness of the situation,” the spokesperson told the Chronicle. 

Watts was indicted for felony livestock cruelty in October 2021. The trial began on Sept. 16 and continued until Oct. 2, when a jury declared Watts guilty after less than an hour of deliberation. Allie’s owner, Scott Berry, was present during the trial, according to KBTX. 

“I think some good and some education can come out of this — and ethical treatment of animals,” Berry told KBTX. “Whether you’re a regular person off the street or a veterinarian, it is important.” 

Watts will be sentenced on Dec. 6. An A&M spokesperson said this is the only such criminal case against an A&M faculty member. 

A statement from the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, John August, was released shortly after the verdict.

“This case involving a former faculty member has been deeply troubling for clinicians, students, support staff and leadership, not just at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences but for the public and, particularly, the equine community as well,” August said. “We firmly believe that the incident is not in any way representative of the care we strive to provide to the nearly 27,000 animals that visit our Small and Large Animal Teaching Hospitals each year.

“Our administrative actions throughout this process have been guided by Texas A&M human resources policies and procedures — as well as the decisions by the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and the criminal investigations related to the incident,” August continued. “We have outstanding faculty throughout the entire VMBS — not just in the teaching hospitals — who represent Texas A&M and our profession extremely well.”