Cow neglect
Wood, WV (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jul 12, 2006
County: Wood
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Bill Anderson
Delegate Bill Anderson, R-Wood, faces a minimum fine of $300 after being cited for alleged cruelty to animals, an official said on July 13.
Pleasants County Sheriff Ted Maston said his office received telephone calls from people driving past Anderson's farm on West Virginia 2 near the Wood County line, stating that a cow on the property was starving. On the afternoon of July 12, officials from the humane society and the sheriff's office went to the farm to investigate the claim. The sheriff's office wrote the citation with a minimum fine of $300.
Maston said Anderson would be responsible for correcting the problem with the cow and contacting Pleasants County Magistrate Court to discuss the citation and possible fine.
"It seems to me that the cows get regular food," Maston said. One of the cows appeared to be suffering from malnutrition, Maston said, but the cow may have just needed special medical attention.
"The real problem is it's right on Route 2, where everybody sees it," Maston said of the farm.
In early 2005, Anderson received a list of problems from the sheriff's department concerning the treatment his cows received. Some of the issues Maston wanted corrected at that time were hoof rot, cancer in the animals and overbreeding.
"He's addressed it since then," Maston said. Anderson's animals have not shown signs of any of the previous problems since the sheriff informed him of the concerns, Maston said.
Maston said the Pleasants County Sheriff's Department has received calls concerning animals that have roamed off the Anderson property. He said he also has received phone calls from passing motorists who believe the animals have nothing to eat or drink.
"There are two water troughs with fresh water pumped into them," Maston said. The cows have access to pasture fields farther from the road, he said.
Maston believes the cows stand around the muddy area near the road because that is where they are fed.
"If that's where they get their grain, that's where they're going to be. When they get hungry enough, I'm sure they go back (to the pasture) to eat," he said.
Areas where cows are fed are always muddy, Maston said. References |
