Case Report

Animal neglect charges have been filed in Franklin County against a farm owner whose cattle died earlier this month. Lawrence Wollyung, of Oxford, Ohio, was charged with one count of neglect of an animal and two counts of animals running at-large, each Class B misdemeanors.

The misdemeanor charges were the most serious prosecutors could file, said Troy Werner, Franklin County chief deputy prosecutor. Animal abuse, like beating, can be a felony charge, but starving an animal is considered neglect, which is a misdemeanor, Werner said.

Because the charges are misdemeanors, Wollyung wasn't arrested, Werner said. Wollyung was served a summons and is scheduled for an initial hearing April 8 in Franklin Circuit Court.

A postmortem examination done on one animal showed it suffered from malnutrition, Werner said. Testing for several other cattle-related diseases continues, he said. A complete carcass was taken to Purdue University's Butlerville facility on March 7 for a postmortem examination.

Wollyung's Angus cattle on Bath Road began dying about March 4, with as many as 30 animals perishing in the next few days, authorities said. During the weekend of March 4-5, there were two reports of cattle on Bath Road, Werner said. That's when authorities discovered dead cattle in the pasture and livestock which appeared to have had little or no food, he said.

The absence of laws in Indiana to deal with this situation frustrates Franklin County Humane Society member Ruth Hughes. Ohio law allows animals to be confiscated when neglect charges are made, she said.

Hughes visited the herd daily for a while to see if it was being fed. She said she was amazed when she learned Grove Clinic Dr. Mike Johnston was bringing bales of hay to the herd.

"Indiana's code for treatment of farm animals is a paper tiger. We are upset that the law doesn't give anyone the teeth to do something," Hughes said. "We had 4-H families volunteer to take the calves, but we couldn't do that."

Law enforcement has no authority at this time to remove the remaining animals, Werner said. The cattle were grazing Thursday on grass that's turning green now.

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