Animal Abuse: Angus cattle stabbed and beaten, severely injured - Harris Township, MI

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Case ID: 18257

Classification: Stabbing, Mutilation/Torture, Beating

Animal: cow

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Angus cattle stabbed and beaten, severely injured
Harris Township, MI (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Jul 18, 2011
County: Menominee

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged:
» Nicholas Michael Leisner
» Peter John Sauve

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Two Escanaba teens were arrested for allegedly stabbing and torturing three cattle at a Harris Township farm, according to the Menominee County Sheriff who has the suspects behind bars.

"It was a pretty bad deal there. We haven't seen anything like this in awhile," said Sheriff Kenny Marks this morning.

Deputies were called at 7:26 a.m. Monday to a farm on County Road 551 where they found three purebred registered red Angus cattle severely injured with stab wounds. The owner reported the incident after he found the cattle in his field earlier that morning.

Investigation revealed the cattle were stabbed several times by a steel bar, Marks said. He explained the teens allegedly corralled the three animals into a cattle shoot, which is used for vaccinations, and then tortured the cattle by stabbing them. The incident occurred overnight Sunday.

Due to the severity of the injuries, two of the cattle - two bred heifers - had to be euthanized. The third animal - a two-year-old bull - was being treated for life-threatening injuries, the sheriff said.

Two 17-year-old males from Escanaba were arrested in connection with the incident Monday morning. They were both charged with cruelty to animals and lodged in the Menominee County Jail, each in lieu of a $5,000 cash bond. The felony carries a maximum punishment of four years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The teens were expected to be arraigned in Menominee County District Court this morning, said Marks.

Their names cannot be released until they have been officially charged by the court.

Investigation continues into the felony as officials conduct additional interviews.

Marks said no other suspects are being investigated at this time.

Alcohol is suspected to be a factor in the incident, the sheriff said.

Marks commented the two suspects and the farmer know each other as neighboring property owners.

"These two guys that were arrested have a camp located next to the farm owner," Marks said.

Case Updates

A Harris Township cattleman and his family continue to shake their heads in disbelief about what happened when three of their cattle were senselessly beaten Sunday night.

Three purebred Angus cattle were allegedly tortured by two 17-year-old Escanaba males who were at a camp next to the cattle farm owned by Gary and Tammy Niarhos.

"I don't know how to describe it," said Gary, 61, on Tuesday. "It's just sickening."

Two of the cattle, each pregnant heifers, were so seriously injured they had to be put down. The third one, a bull named "Bubs," is being treated for its injuries at the farm.

Gary found the three injured animals when he went to feed them Monday morning.

He first became suspicious when he noticed someone else's footprints in the mud. When he went to feed the steers a bucket of corn, he saw a puddle of blood in the corral.

"You think, 'What the heck's going on?'" said Gary as he described what happened from his kitchen table. His wife along with their daughter, Heather Niarhos, and granddaughter, Cassie Niarhos, listened as he recollected what happened.

The bull was standing all covered in blood in the corral, explained Gary. The two heifers had obvious life-threatening wounds. (EDITOR'S NOTE: These injuries were too graphic to describe specifically.)

"I thought to myself, 'I'm lost here,'" he said. "I didn't really know how bad this was going to be."

Gary called the sheriff's department and his veterinarian.

When Deputy Tom Draze arrived, the two of them found a metal bar, a three-foot jack handle, and a shovel with the end broken off.

According to Gary, the persons responsible must have come to the corral, north of the Niarhos home, after a thunderstorm had ended around 1 a.m. From the blood that was at the scene, it appeared the animals had been led into a corral chute which is used to confine them when they are vaccinated or artificially inseminated, he said.

The metal bar, jack handle and shovel appeared to have been used to beat the three, he continued. Knife wounds were also prevalent on the cows.

"They ran them in a chute, locked them in and did this to the animals and let them back out," Gary said.

Tammy added, "We don't know how anybody can do this... I can't picture how someone could stand there sane and do this to an animal."

The 1,400-pound bull suffered a broken jaw, a broken backbone, welts, and 15 to 20 knife wounds. Bubs will not be able to be used for breeding if he survives, Gary said. The two heifers, each about 800 pounds, were euthanized because of the beatings they endured. They had already been "A.I.'d," or artificially inseminated, he explained.

"They were the cream of the crop. This is what this whole operation is made of," said Gary who has been in the cattle business locally since 2000. He grew up on a dairy farm downstate.

The Niarhos' 80-acre family farm, called "She's a Lady," has about 50 head of commercial cows and 16 registered red Angus cattle. The three injured cows - each 2 years old and very docile - are worth about $4,000 and were insured, he said.

Gary went on to explain that after he and the deputy found the bloody tools, they followed foot tracks to the camp located south of the Niarhos farm. Draze knocked on the door but no one answered even though there were a couple cars there, Gary remembered.

After waiting and no one came to the door, the deputy left but Gary remained in his vehicle in the driveway. Later, a car with five people came out and Niarhos advised them to wait for the sheriff. When the car took off, he followed them along roads into Delta County while communicating on his cell phone with Draze who intercepted the suspects. After finding the matching shoes to the prints, the deputy arrested the two teens.

Gary recalled one of them said they had beaten the cows for the fun of it.

"I told them they would never be forgiven by me... Then I came back and took care of the business I had to take care of here," said the cattleman.

His wife said he was crying on the phone when he talked to her at the nursing home where she works as a nurse. He told her something had happened but couldn't say what.

"He's a hard-working man," Tammy said about her husband who has undergone his own tragedies including the loss of his leg in a manure spreader more than two decades ago.

"We work hard and take pride in it. This crime was against us and the poor animals," she added, wondering what could happen next.

"It's scary," she said, shaking her head. "What's the world coming to?"

Source: dailypress.net - Jul 20, 2011
Update posted on Jul 20, 2011 - 7:18PM

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Two Escanaba teens have been arraigned for allegedly stabbing and torturing three cattle in Harris Township.

Nicholas Michael Leisner and Peter John Sauve were each arraigned today on three counts of animal/killing/torturing. Menominee County Sheriff's Department deputies arrested the two 17-year-old males Monday. They were held, awaiting arraignment on a $10,000 bond. The crime is a felony punishable by up to four years imprisonment.

Leisner and Sauve are being held at the Menominee County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond.

On Monday, deputies were sent to a Harris Township Farm on County Road 551 to investigate a report of injury to beef cattle. Registered Red Angus cattle had been herded into a cattle chute and a steel bar was used to impale them, according to menominee County Sheriff Kenny Marks. Some of the cattle were also beat with a steel rod and a shovel.

Two bred heifers were later euthanized as a result of severe internal injuries. A two-year-old bull is currently being treated by a veterinarian for life-threatening injuries.

Source: dailypress.net - Jul 19, 2011
Update posted on Jul 19, 2011 - 8:16PM

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Angus cattle stabbed and beaten, severely injured Harris Township, MI (US)

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Angus cattle stabbed and beaten, severely injured
Harris Township, MI (US)