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WOODRUFF, Rich County — A Rich County man has been charged with multiple counts of animal abuse after police said they found several of his livestock animals deceased or severely malnourished.
The 51-year-old Woodruff man was charged Monday in Rich County Justice Court with seven counts of cruelty to an animal, a class B misdemeanor.
Rich County sheriff's deputies began their investigation after being notified by several witnesses that multiple heads of cattle and horses were being neglected and starved by the rancher who owns them, according to a search warrant affidavit.
"I went to the field where the animals were kept, and observed several cows that were obviously malnourished, and I also observed the carcasses of four dead animals, one bull, two cows, and one calf that had either died, or had to be put down due to their unsurvivable state," the deputy wrote in the affidavit.
The deputy also noted that at the time he was preparing the warrant, he was notified of another cow the would have to be put down and a palomino horse that may also be deceased.
The animals "have not been fed … for several months" but were given some alfalfa by others who told investigators they could no longer continue to feed the man's animals because they had their own to take care of, the warrant states.
A total of 11 cows and 14 calves were seized by authorities, according to the warrant
