var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime() Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: 1,000 pigs, 6 calves abandoned to die - Warfordsburg, PA (US)
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Case ID: 16837
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: pig, cow
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1,000 pigs, 6 calves abandoned to die
Warfordsburg, PA (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, Nov 7, 2010
County: Fulton

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Daniel Lee Clark, Sr.

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

The investigation of about 1,000 dead pigs on a Fulton County farm continued Wednesday, and removal of the carcasses is planned for later this week.

Dennis Bumbaugh, Pennsylvania Humane Police Officer with Better Days Animal League, said Wednesday that members of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and a number of forensic veterinarians will be assisting.

Despite the carnage, he said the smell on the farm was "not that bad." The carcasses are in varying states of decay, "some almost mummified," Bumbaugh said. Forensic experts will test some of the pigs' bone marrow to accurately determine whether starvation was the cause of death.

Between 950 and 1,000 pigs, apparently abandoned to die on the Union Township farm of Daniel and Kerron Clark, were discovered over the weekend.

Bumbaugh said the incident may be the largest of its kind in state history.

The ASPCA Field Investigation and Response team deployed Wednesday to assist local authorities with the investigation, according to ASPCA spokesperson Emily Brand.

She said the group had been in Florida to conduct a workshop, but several people flew to Pennsylvania after they were alerted to the incident. They had not yet arrived at the scene Wednesday, so Brand was unable to comment specifically about the investigation.

The team is "commonly called upon by state and municipal governments and other animal welfare partners to lend expertise during large-scale animal rescues," Brand wrote in an e-mail.

She added that the association's Crime Scene Investigation unit was not being dispatched as of Wednesday afternoon, "but that may change."

Bumbaugh said criminal charges are likely, pending the outcome of the investigation. He declined to discuss potential charges until more information is available.

Fulton County District Attorney Travis Kendall wrote in an e-mail Wednesday it would be "inappropriate" for him to comment on the case, citing the continuing investigation.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture plans to issue a citation for failure to properly dispose of animal carcasses, according to department spokesperson Nicole Bucher.

Bucher said the department has been coordinating plans for disposal with Kerron Clark, and the process of removing the carcasses is scheduled to begin Friday. Burial and incineration are two potentially acceptable methods of disposal.

The department "will continue to work with state agencies, industry organizations and animal welfare groups to ensure that cleanup is quick, thorough and responsible," Bucher wrote in an e-mail.

Daniel Clark reportedly left the farm for the last time in August, Bumbaugh said. He and his wife, Kerron, had separated in recent years and she eventually took possession of the farm.

According to the Fulton County Prothonotary's Office, a protection from abuse order was issued for Kerron Clark against Daniel Clark in 2008. Bumbaugh said that the couple's divorce has not yet been finalized, but Kerron was given permission to sell the farm.

She lives in Maryland. On Wednesday, Bumbaugh said she had requested that no media be allowed on the farm, and that she did not wish to speak with the press.

Efforts to reach Daniel Clark were not successful by presstime Wednesday. Bumbaugh said Clark was believed to be living near Hagerstown, Md., but his specific whereabouts are not known.

Court records indicate Daniel Clark was charged in Washington County, Md., with harassment and violating an out-of-state PFA. Kerron Clark was listed as the complainant. A trial in that case has been set for Jan. 5.

According to records, Kerron Clark sued him in September on a child support issue and a Maryland judge upheld the support order on Oct. 22.

A neighbor said Clark operated the farm on Harmon Lane for at least 10 years. Union Township Secretary Carolyn Wills said Clark was appointed to be a township supervisor in July 2002. He resigned from the post about seven months later.

Bumbaugh said Kerron Clark learned of the dead pigs on Sunday, after a potential buyer visited the farm and reported the dead animals to her Realtor, Rebecca A. Glesner of Long and Foster Real Estate. Glesner called Clark on Sunday, who contacted authorities the next day.

"This incident is gruesome and unacceptable, but it is important to remember that this is certainly not common practice on farms throughout the commonwealth," Bucher wrote.

Bob Mikesell, a senior instructor of dairy and animal science at Pennsylvania State University, called the incident "a tragedy." A farmer himself, Mikesell said abandoning animals to starve to death is "unconscionable."

"It's extremely offensive. It doesn't matter who you are, whether you're a farmer or not, it's something that just curls your skin to hear about," he said.

Mikesell said "finishing pigs" are typically purchased when they are about 10 weeks old, weighing around 50 pounds. They are kept for about 16 weeks, at which point they weigh around 250 pounds.

During that period, each pig should be fed about five pounds of feed per day. Hogs are usually fed a corn and soybean based feed that provides a balance of protein, energy, vitamins and minerals, he said. Finishing hogs typically drink between one and two gallons of water a day, depending on how hot the weather is.

Each pig typically represents an initial investment of $1 per pound, or $50 per animal on average, according to Mikesell. On Tuesday, the market value for hogs was 45 cents per pound. At that rate, an average hog weighing 265 pounds would be worth about $120.

"That's the puzzling part. Somebody had a lot of investment in these pigs, and why they wouldn't try to get that investment back out of them, I have no idea," Bumbaugh said.

Although they are typically fed a strictly vegetarian diet by the farmers who raise them, hogs are omnivores and known to be cannibalistic if the opportunity presents itself.

"So, some of them may have taken some nourishment from some of the pigs that died before they did," he said.

Asked how long the animals might survive without regular access to food and water, Mikesell said he wasn't sure.

"It's not something you ever want to deal with. It's not something we really study," he said. "Conscientious pork producers certainly wouldn't let something like this happen."


Case Updates

Each of the deaths of 832 hogs at a Pennsylvania farm has led to a summary count of animal cruelty against the Maryland man responsible for their care.

A criminal complaint was filed Thursday alleging that Daniel Lee Clark Sr., 47, of Clearspring, Md., left the animals to die when he abandoned his Fulton County farm in February 2009.

By the time the hogs were found a month ago, "they were basically mummified," said Lt. Gregory M. Bacher of the Pennsylvania State Police.

A real-estate agent inspecting the property on Nov. 8 discovered the cadavers in two large metal barns and called authorities, Bacher said.

"Because the carcasses were so far gone as far as being mummified, necropsy could not really provide any details of how they died," he said. " . . . We can't really say whether they starved."

The livestock might have died because of cold, heat, thirst or disease, or some combination.

"Some were very young and some were ready for sale," Bacher said.

Clark's estranged wife, Kerron, co-owned the farm but was not charged because he was the animals' caretaker, Bacher said.

If the animals had died because of non-owner's actions, felony charges could have been filed.

But because Daniel Lee Clark Sr. owned the hogs, lesser charges applied.

"I don't want to belittle the charges, but this is like getting 832 tickets," said Bacher. "Each one if a summary offense."

If District Justice Carol Jean Johnson decides each charge carries just a fine, Clark could write a check and never see a courtroom, Bacher said.
Source: philly.com - Dec 10, 2010
Update posted on Dec 10, 2010 - 12:26PM 

References

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