Verdict Due For Md. Farmer Charged With Abusing Livestock
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- It's verdict time for a western Maryland farmer charged with 20 counts of animal cruelty.
The bench trial of 61-year-old Daniel Rohrer comes to an end Wednesday in Hagerstown.
District Judge Terry Myers previously acquitted Rohrer on six counts. Prosecutors have dropped nearly 300 more since animal control officer seized scores of cattle, goats and sheep from the farm near Boonsboro in November.
Prosecutors say Rohrer didn't properly feed and care for the animals. Five sheep died after they were removed from the farm.
Rohrer says the allegations reflect a dispute over legal farming practices. He has acknowledged leaving dead sheep to decompose in a barn with live animals. But his lawyer says there's no law against that.
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