 Cattle neglect - calves found dead
Randolph, OH (US)Incident Date: Friday, Feb 2, 2007
County: Portage
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Howard Mangold
|
|
Investigators found two dead calves and seized a bull and 10 cows on Feb 2 after looking into an animal neglect complaint involving a Portage County farm.
A veterinarian brought to the roadside barn determined that the cattle appeared malnourished, Sheriff Duane Kaley said. Deputies and the humane officer from the county's Animal Protective League searched the property with a judge-ordered warrant.
Animal rescue workers whisked the cattle away to two locations, including a farm in Summit County. Many of the cows loaded into the trailers looked visibly skinny, with hides stretched tight over jutting bones.
"It has to be bad for us to take this step," said Linda Casale, director of the Portage APL.
But cattle owner Howard Mangold, 70, defended his care of the animals and called the officials "cattle rustlers."
He carped at the group as he sat across from bales of hay inside the ramshackle white barn with peeling paint. He shouted at the group when the last cow repeatedly rebuffed attempts to load it in a trailer. (A rescue volunteer said they ended up leaving the cow in the fenced-in area.)
"She likes it here!" Mangold yelled while workers tried to lure the cow with hay. "That's why she doesn't want to go! She knows where she's better off!"
Humane Officer Jennifer Sanderson of the APL fielded an anonymous call last week about the conditions of Mangold's herd. The caller described the cattle as "emaciated," Casale said. Sanderson drove to the Industry Road farm and surveyed the animals from the street.
Sanderson later returned with a veterinarian to take another look at the animals grazing in the field. The veterinarian's assessment spurred the warrant, Casale said.
Kaley said information from the Feb 2 search would be presented to prosecutors for possible charges.
Mangold said he learned about his animals being taken after a friend phoned him. He said he owns the cattle with his son, David, who lives on the Industry Road property. Mangold said he lives about three miles away but makes daily visits to the barn to feed and look after the animals.
He described his operation as a breeding farm and said he sells the offspring. He said he didn't know about the deceased calves that investigators found and speculated that they had been born the night before.
"I look after my cows," Mangold said. "They're in good shape."
Richfield farmer Jim Fry took in five of the animals, and said all seemed undersized and unkempt. Two seemed so weak that Fry said he worried whether they would survive the night. He said the cattle put "nose down" and immediately consumed nearly four bales of hay after arriving.
He said they seemed desperate to eat.
"I don't know what conditions they were in," Fry said, "but they were certainly happy to get some food." Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
Back to Top References« OH State Animal Cruelty Map
|
