TriniTuner.com | Latest Event:
Moderator: 3ne2nr Mods
$100,000 bond set in dairy cruelty case
Farm accused of improper burial of cows
Friday, May 28, 2010 2:50 AM
By Holly Zachariah
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
JAY LaPRETE | ASSOCIATED PRESS
Billy Joe Gregg faces 12 counts of cruelty to animals. He said in Marysville Municipal Court yesterday that he is a wounded Army veteran of the Iraq war and is studying to become a police officer.
MARYSVILLE, Ohio - The man shown in a video stomping calves' heads and beating tied-down cows with metal rods at a local dairy farm told a judge yesterday that he needed to be out of jail, in part, so that he could care for his own animals.
Billy Joe Gregg didn't say what kind of animals he keeps at his Delaware house, but Marysville Municipal Judge Mike Grisgby had little sympathy: He set Gregg's bond at $100,000 and said that if Gregg does get out of jail, he can't have any contact with animals.
Gregg appeared in a video released late Tuesday by Mercy For Animals, an animal-rights group based in Chicago that promotes a vegan lifestyle. The group sent an undercover employee into Conklin Dairy Farms on Rt. 42 near Plain City and recorded over the past three weeks what it says is about 20 hours of footage showing Conklin employees - mainly Gregg - viciously beating and abusing what appear to be otherwise healthy cows and calves.
Gregg was arrested Wednesday, hours after the video was released. He is charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty, all second-degree misdemeanors. He faces up to a $750 fine and 90 days in jail on each charge, if convicted.
Also yesterday, after the city prosecutor's office asked the Ohio Department of Agriculture to assist in the investigation, state inspectors arrived at the farm and cited it for not properly disposing of dead animals.
A department spokeswoman said Conklin didn't bury dead cows deep enough on the property.
"With all the recent rains, the animals apparently washed to the surface," said Cindy Kalis of the Ohio Department of Agriculture. She said the farm has several days to fix the situation or the state will take more-serious action.
Farm owner Gary Conklin released another statement yesterday denouncing the behavior shown in the video and said it doesn't represent the culture of care at his farm. Although he said he's cooperating with authorities, he has asked independent veterinarians for their opinion of what's on the tape.
Union County Sheriff Rocky Nelson has said the investigation into the farm and Conklin, who was videotaped repeatedly kicking a cow, continues.
Also yesterday, the Ohio House voted overwhelmingly to approve legislation toughening animal-cruelty laws for "companion animals," including home pets. The bill, which moves to the Senate for action, does not apply to livestock.
The law would boost the penalty for second and subsequent animal-cruelty violations to a first-degree misdemeanor. It also would create a penalty for harming animals in a household under a domestic-violence protection order and require a psychological evaluation for juveniles who torture or kill pets.
Gregg told Judge Grisgby that he is a wounded Army veteran of the Iraq war and that he is studying to become an Ohio police officer. None of that could be confirmed yesterday.
Gregg asked the court to appoint a lawyer to defend him. Gregg also asked to be released from jail because he has an upcoming appointment with the Department of Veterans Affairs for his disability, which he did not identify.
On the undercover video footage, Gregg can be seen bringing guns into the milk house, firing them on the property and talking about stealing M-16 rifles from the U.S. Army while in Iraq.
Nelson said Wednesday night that those weapons and theft allegations would also be investigated.
buzz wrote:He said in Marysville Municipal Court yesterday that he is a wounded Army veteran of the Iraq war and is studying to become a police officer.
stev wrote:cant wait for wen d devil chookin' fire in he kakahole in hell. dis vid get me vex...
DevilZ wrote:appropiate the article came from treehugger.com...i hate wen ppl put animals on a similar level to humans..they are food ppl who cares what happens as long as they're delicious once they hit my plate...
DevilZ wrote:...i hate wen ppl put animals on a similar level to humans.....
pioneer wrote:i refuse to watch this
DevilZ wrote:dont have pets, never will...i cant see y ppl would bring animals into their home and spend money behind them...it have ppl that will treat their pets better than ppl...
TriniVdub wrote:DevilZ wrote:dont have pets, never will...i cant see y ppl would bring animals into their home and spend money behind them...it have ppl that will treat their pets better than ppl...
And what so wrong with that? At the end of the day animals are not the ones destroying the world, we are.
Humans are nothing more than a plague.
DevilZ wrote:...i hate wen ppl put animals on a similar level to humans..
DevilZ wrote:...it have ppl that will treat their pets better than ppl...
TO HELL THEY GO!!!!!Return to “Ole talk and more Ole talk”
Users browsing this forum: The_Honourable and 36 guests
