WARFORDSBURG, Pa. — A former Pennsylvania farmer is facing 832 charges of cruelty to animals.
According to the Pennsylvania State Police, Daniel Lee Clark Sr., 47, now of Clearspring, Md., was the sole caretaker of a pig farm and reportedly failed to protect and provide for the approximate 832 hogs found dead on a Fulton County Farm previously owned by Clark.
Clark is accused of neglecting them and leaving them to die without rendering assistance in regards to shelter, food, water and subjecting them to cold and freezing conditions sometime between February 2009 and March 2009.
A criminal complaint was filed Dec. 9 at the office of District Justice Carol Jean Johnson.
A statement from the Pennsylvania State Police said the Pa. Department of Agriculture and the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal counted the number of dead hogs.
The number of pigs located inside the barns were counted and totaled the 832, which resulted in that number of charges.
Several pigs were taken for lab examination and necropsy.
According to the lab reports, the hogs had been dead for an extended period of time prior to discovery in November.
Clark could face a fine or a fine and jail time depending on what the judge decides.
Why do people do these things, what do they get out of this.
Truly tragic. No animal should suffer as these did. It’s people like this that give good farmers a bad name. All you have to do is put the word out and others will come take the animals if they are unwanted or cannot be provided for.
Somethings definately funny here…why would someone just abandon hogs when they could have easily been taken to a sale and sold-resulting in an income? I’d say there is much more to this story than is written-perhaps it would be prudent to wait and see before passing judgement here.