On February 15, New Holland Sales Stable was convicted of animal cruelty in a Lancaster County courthouse for neglecting three disabled sheep. While this is the first such conviction, concerns about animal abuse have swirled around the New Holland stockyard for more than a decade amid various reports about living animals discarded on the dead pile or in garbage bins. The case was filed by Keith Mohler, a humane enforcement officer with Farm Sanctuary. The stockyard was convicted on three counts of animal cruelty and ordered to pay $500 for each count.
Officer Mohler charged the stockyard with three counts of animal cruelty for failing to provide needed veterinary care or to humanely euthanize three "downed" sheep (animals too sick to stand). The incapacitated animals were found in the afternoon of September 3, 2006, by a member of Animals Angels. The sheep were left to suffer without receiving appropriate food, water or veterinary care. They were humanely euthanized by Mohler at 10 p.m. that evening.
"These workers knew what kind of condition these animals were in and failed to provide them with basic humane consideration. All three sheep were in terrible condition, and one was missing hunks of skin all over her body," Mohler said. "Failing to act responsibly and leaving these animals to languish without proper care constitutes a violation of Pennsylvania law." The sheep apparently arrived on a truck from Nebraska that also contained 16 to 18 dead sheep.
"Attaining animal cruelty convictions at stockyards and farms – even when the cruelties are blatant and horrifying to most people – are extremely difficult because of broad agricultural exemptions in state anti-cruelty codes," said Gene Baur, president of Farm Sanctuary. "These animals deserve protection under the law and cases like this help define unacceptable treatment of farm animals. The capacity for these animals to suffer is just as great as any companion animal's, making the case that animal cruelty laws should be based on sentience, rather than arbitrary labels as
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