How can you miss all those dead sheep. They are everywhere in the pictures. Terrible. Why not take them to an auction and sell them if nothing else. I do not understand people like that. I hope when its his time to go he gets forgotten also. I will do without before my guys do. Oneta in OK
Don't tell GOD what to do, just report for duty! -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Carol J. Elkins Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 9:31 AM To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Subject: [blackbelly] update on starving sheep Friday's issue of Tulsa World contained the following update about the starving Barbado. They have a link to photos and warn that the photos are very graphic. I don't have the courage to look at them. The article also includes a way to send contributions to the Craig County Sheriff Office to help with the costs of caring for the sheep. Here's the link to the online article (http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=070119_Ne_A1_Owner1767). I've copied it below as well. Owner did not starve sheep, attorney says By ROD WALTON World Staff Writer 1/19/2007 Slideshow: Watch a slideshow of photos taken at the property. Editor's note: The images are graphic. www.tulsaworld.com/deadsheep VINITA -- The surviving sheep in a Bluejacket rancher's herd were eating and drinking Thursday, one day after investigators found them among dozens of carcasses of sheep that allegedly starved to death. The rancher's attorney, however, argued Thursday that David Bradley Bell did not starve his sheep and that his losses were not unexpected for a type of animal moved from south Texas in the last year. "He strenuously refutes any allegation that he wasn't feeding the animals or not taking care of them," Vinita attorney Jot Hartley said. "It's no advantage to Mr. Bell having a single animal die. He paid for those animals." Bell, 46, faces potential animal cruelty and neglect counts in Craig County, according to reports. He was jailed Wednesday and later released on $5,000 bail. Craig County Sheriff's deputies and state investigators who served a search warrant at one of his properties Wednesday made a gruesome discovery -- stacks of dead sheep in barns, on a porch and strewn across a pasture. Some carcasses were decomposed enough to have been dead several weeks, authorities said. "This problem had been going on a long time," said local veterinarian Justin Roscoe. "Our biggest concern now is we're taking care of the animals." The Barbado sheep were receiving hay and water Thursday, and many appeared to be eating fine, the veterinarian said. Other animals, however, had died since the Wednesday discovery. "We're still trying to assess how many we have," Roscoe added. Craig County Assistant District Attorney Jim Ely said he could not file charges against Bell until the Sheriff Office's final report was sent his way. If charged and convicted of animal cruelty or other counts, Bell could be sentenced up to five years in prison and/or fined $5,000. "It's going to take a while," Ely said of the criminal investigation. "I'm anticipating filing charges." Bell was unavailable for comment. His attorney, however, noted that his client, who moved to the Bluejacket area from west Texas several years ago, was a highly respected rancher in the county. Hartley also defended Bell's care of the animals, arguing that the family had just fed the sheep that morning. "Autopsies will show they had food in them," the defense attorney said. "I challenge the authorities to do that." Should the case go to trial, Hartley added, he could call other ranchers who experienced similar death rates among their herds in the first year in a new climate. He noted that Bell had to deal with a 15-inch snow in December and the recent ice storm. "I don't know if they'll lock up every sheep producer in Craig County, but if they put them under the same microscope as Mr. Bell, they may have a full jail," Hartley said. Undersheriff B.J. Floyd, however, noted that authorities received numerous complaints from Bell's neighbors about skinny cattle or sheep during the past year. They investigated several of the cattle complaints but found nothing to charge Bell with, he added. The neighbors later complained that Bell's sheep were trespassing over to their properties and eating their wheat fields, Floyd said. A month-long investigation culminated in Wednesday's visit to the farm. The undersheriff said he was as surprised as anyone about the discovery. He considers Bell a law-abiding citizen who is well-liked in much of the community. Investigators also served a search warrant Thursday at the property where Bell lives, just south of the previous site. The sheep found there were healthy, Floyd said. "They're a good family," the undersheriff said. "It's not like they are thugs." Yet seeing the dozens of carcasses is hard to grasp, he admitted. "Even the vet commented that he'd never seen anything that bad," Floyd said. A national relief team for the U.S. Humane Society traveled to Vinita to help investigators and veterinarians care for the animals, authorities said. The Sheriff's Office and Oklahoma Alliance for Animals also were raising funds to help pay for the herd's upkeep. Alliance Executive Director Laurie Searcy Mayes said local animal-rights activists were outraged by the number of dead, dying and sickly sheep found on Bell's property. "I'm not aware of anything of this magnitude," she said. "This is the most horrendous thing I've ever heard." Rod Walton 581-8457 [EMAIL PROTECTED] To help the animals The continued care of surviving sheep found Wednesday in Craig County will cost thousands of dollars over the coming months, authorities noted. The Craig County Sheriff's Office is asking for help in funding the effort. Anyone interested can send a check to the sheriff's office, 301 W. Canadian, Vinita, OK 74301. The Oklahoma Alliance for Animals also has started a fund to help care for the sheep. The OAA address is 2642 E. 21st St., Suite 120, Tulsa, OK 74114. _______________________________________________ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info _______________________________________________ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
