DNR officers find piles of dead baby goats in Manistee National Forest
Piles of dead baby goats were found dumped in the Manistee National Forest in March, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources says.
A Michigan DNR conservation officer received a complaint from Newaygo Central Dispatch regarding a pile of dead baby goats that had been dumped in the forest.
The officer responded to the area and confirmed the complaint but could not locate a suspect. The DNR forwarded the information to the United States Forest Service, which later sent an officer to the location after someone reported additional piles of more than 70 dead baby goats found dumped in the forest.
The forest service officer found an ear tag left on one of the dead goats and used the tag to track down a suspect, who reportedly told the officer that the goats were "alive and well and were at his farm on the south side of the county."
Conservation officers visited the farm and interviewed the suspect's wife. While they were at the farm, officers found about 20 baby goats inside a barn, including one goat that was found dead in a pen. The goats looked similar to those that were found dumped in the forest, according to officials.
The officers said the goats were being kept in poor conditions.
The DNR has turned the case over to Newaygo County Animal Control for further investigation.
