Farmer Guilty On 5 Counts Of Animal Cruelty, Gets Probation

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- A western Maryland farmer has been convicted of five counts of animal cruelty after animal control officers seized scores of cattle, goats and sheep from the farm near Boonsboro.

Sixty-one-year-old Daniel Rohrer was sentenced to a $500 fine and three years of unsupervised probation Wednesday in Hagerstown.

Prosecutors say Rohrer didn't properly feed and care for the animals. Five sheep died after they were removed from the farm.

Rohrer told The Hagerstown Herald-Mail after sentencing that the trial had ruined him financially.

Rohrer says the allegations reflected a dispute over legal farming practices. He acknowledged leaving dead sheep to decompose in a barn with live animals. But his lawyer says there's no law against that

District Judge Terry Myers previously acquitted Rohrer on six counts. Prosecutors dropped nearly 300 more.

RELATED: Nearly 100 Malnourished Animals Seized At Md. Farm

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