Animal Cruelty Charges in Suffolk, VA

Recently, a Suffolk cattle farmer was convicted by a judge of two counts of animal cruelty. He was fined $1,000. He was accused when people saw dead cattle in his field while driving by. Animal control officers were called in and took two of the dead cattle away for further study. The farmer himself was in New York for cancer treatment. Here is the full news article.

Here is the deal: The cows were fed and fed well. They died from grass tetany,a mineral deficiency, that they got from bad hay. Someone was paid to look after the cattle.

I must admit I am torn on this. One the one hand, the farmer is like the captain of a ship. If the ship runs aground the middle of the night and the captain is asleep in his stateroom with someone else at the helm, the captain is ultimately responsible. At the same time, the cows died of a medical condition. They were not tortured, mauled, or other wise harmed directly by the farmer. In other words, this cattle farmer is no Michael Vick.

Any thoughts?