Farmed animal neglect
Spring Lake, FL (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Aug 15, 2004
County: Hernando
Disposition: Not Charged
Person of Interest: Adrian Cuesta
Emaciated goats and pigs were seized from a yard littered with bones and carcasses near the Pasco County line. Hernando County Animal Services took 48 animals from 25735 Dan Brown Hill Road on Aug. 15, including many sick pigs and goats as well as several thin cows, horses, ducks and geese.
Three dead pigs and a dead goat were also picked up at the site.
The county plans to try to keep the animals, accusing owner Adrian Cuesta of animal mistreatment, according to records filed in county court Monday. No criminal charges have been filed against the owner.
Open sores covered some of the pigs' legs, and one pig's back had grown a deformed hump, a sign of malnutrition, animal services manager Liana Teague said.
Some of the pigpens had no food, and green mold grew in the water trough. Food barrels contained rotting cabbage, mayonnaise and crunched tortilla chips.
One sheep hadn't been shorn in many months, and its dirty, matted wool had grown so thick it touched the ground.
"Some were better than others, but the majority of the animals were in poor shape," Teague said.
On Aug. 13, animal control found two pig carcases. When they returned two days later, the carcases had yet to be removed, and another pig and goat had also died in their pens. Pigs and vultures were eating the carcasses, court records stated.
The Department of Agriculture quarantined the property to prevent the spread of disease and recommended that the county take the animals.
Animal owner Cuesta did not return phone calls for comment. He owns the property but lives elsewhere, records show. He told officials he was raising the animals to sell, Teague said.
Cuesta had recently purchased the animals from a livestock auction in Ocala and told sheriff's deputies he planned to fatten the animals and sell them, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office records. He denied anything was wrong with the animals, according to police reports.
One baby goat was so sick that the veterinarian took it home. That goat died and three of the sick, emaciated pigs also died in the county's care.
The county will go to court Sept. 14 to fight to keep the animals. If the county wins custody, healthy animals would be auctioned off. References |
