Warning: This story contains disturbing details. Discretion is advised.
A man has been charged with bestiality after being accused of sexually assaulting a horse on a Vernon, B.C., farm earlier this year.
Seth Christian was scheduled to appear in Vernon court at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Abigail Equestrian owner Erica Van Meenen said that in January, she discovered surveillance footage that allegedly showed a man sexually assaulting one of her horses.
Meenen said she and her 10-year-old son were home one night when her phone began lighting up with notifications from the security cameras at her horse stables.
“There was a clip and my horse [Yola] was looking very bright-eyed and aware that something was going on,” Van Meenen said in January. “So I scrolled to the next clip and that’s when a man walks by.”
Story continues below advertisement
Vernon RCMP were called to the property. Van Meenen says she watched the surveillance footage back alongside an officer.
“The officer’s face just dropped. We both said, ‘Oh my God,’” she said. “He asked me right away if I was OK, and I just answered, ‘I’m in shock.’”
Get daily National news
Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, bestiality is defined as “any contact, for a sexual purpose, with an animal.”
0:48
Man accused of violating horse arrested
On Thursday, Van Meenan told Global News that it has been a lot to process, but finally, something is happening.
“There’s a lot of people out there who were quite triggered by the situation, and it brought up a lot of trauma for other people,” she said.
“So it’s relieving for not just myself and the horses, the owners of the horses of my property, but also the general public, because people are upset like this. It just is not acceptable.”
More on Crime
More videos
Story continues below advertisement
Van Meenan said she wants to see Christian serve time.
“Well, I want to see him prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” she said.
“What that is, I’m not sure. I’m not sure if there is a fat jail sentence for this or what it is, but I want to see not just the slap on the wrist.”
The National Centre for the Prosecution of Animal Cruelty states that bestiality is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Van Meenan says that now she has a new camera system on the property and every horse has their own camera pointed at their paddock.
“That was a lengthy procedure to get that all up and organized and quite expensive on top of it, but yeah, so we’re just continuing on and trying to move on with our lives and stick with our regular program,” she said.
As for Yola, Van Meenan said she is doing well.
“She is, seems to be, back to normal,” she said.
But the situation has left her rattled.
“It has given me this feeling of being uneasy in my own home, and then to see that the nighttime trespassing wasn’t on his list of charges. I’m not sure if it will be added at a later date, but that was a little bit disappointing to see that wasn’t there.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.