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Conklin not guilty. #2052899
07/07/10 01:17 PM
07/07/10 01:17 PM
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,777
Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,777
Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Farm owner won't face animal abuse charges
BY HOLLY ZACHARIAH
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 09:13 AM
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/07/06/cow-abuse-charges.html?sid=101

MARYSVILLE, Ohio -- A Union County grand jury has decided the owner of
a Union County dairy farm caught in an abuse scandal should not face
criminal charges.

A grand jury met last week and heard testimony from an Ohio Department
of Agriculture veterinarian, the Union County Humane Society and
others before deciding that dairy farmer Gary Conklin did nothing
criminal, according to Union County Prosecutor David Phillips.

Jurors saw hours of video tape recorded by an undercover employee of
the animal-rights group, Mercy For Animals, not just the few minutes
that group posted on YouTube, Phillips said.

On the tape, Conklin employee Billy Joe Gregg is seen viciously
beating and abusing cows and calves at the Plain City farm. Gregg has
since been fired. He has been charged with 12 misdemeanor counts of
animal cruelty and faces a felony weapons charge. He has pleaded not
guilty to all the charges.

Also on the tape, Conklin is shown kicking a cow that is lying down.

Phillips said the portion of the tape shown publicly was spliced
together and that Conklin's behavior was taken out of context. The
Union County sheriff's office said it had four veterinarians with
experience in large-animal care review the tape.

"In context, Mr. Conklin's actions were entirely appropriate,"
Phillips wrote in a news release this morning. "The veterinarians told
law enforcement that cows who remain down are at risk of injury or
death. A cow's muscles may atrophy. Once that happens, the cow may
never get up and may suffer or die."

In an e-mailed statement, Gary Conklin called the announcement bittersweet.

"It is gratifying that the grand jury found no reason to bring any
charges against our farm, family members or current employees," he
wrote. "However, we remain extraordinarily saddened by the willful
abuse of animals on our farm by one of our former employees."

He said this has been "a horrible time for the Conklin family" and
that Gregg's abuse did not reflect the farm's commitment to animal
care. He said he hopes to put the matter behind him, and continue to
run the fourth-generation cattle-sales business along Rt. 42.

Jurors also reviewed the actions of another Conklin employee as well
as the Mercy for Animals investigator, who admitted to poking animals
with pitchforks to maintain his cover, and they found nothing that
merited criminal charges, Phillips said.

The criminal investigation isn't over, however. Phillips said threats
of violence and murder made by animal-rights activists against the
Conklins are still under review and information may be forwarded to
the U.S. Attorney's Office for possible charges under the federal
Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.

Mercy For Animals reacted to the announcement today and said that
Union County has failed the animals and Ohio residents who care about
them by giving Conklin Farms "a free pass."

"If such abuse is considered legal in Ohio, compassionate citizens
should have serious concerns regarding the array of acceptable abuses
animals ensure in the dairy industry."

The organization presented the sheriff's office with tape proving that
Conklin knew of the abuse and created a culture that allowed it, said
Daniel Hauff, director of investigations for Mercy For Animals


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Mac Leod Motto
Re: Conklin not guilty. [Re: Mira Trapper] #2054679
07/08/10 06:51 PM
07/08/10 06:51 PM
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,777
Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia
Mira Trapper Offline OP
trapper
Mira Trapper  Offline OP
trapper

Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 2,777
Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia
NOTE: For coverage of the grand jury’s decision, see;
http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/conklin-dairy-farm-no-additional-charges/15283.html


Farm & Dairy (blog)
Animal abuser, animal rights activist fooled dairy farmer with
seemingly good backgrounds

by Chris Kick
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/animal-...unds/15300.html


PLAIN CITY, Ohio — When Union County dairy farmer Gary Conklin hired
the now-fired animal abuser Billy Joe Gregg Jr., and undercover animal
rights filmmaker Jason Smith, he did so thinking he was getting two
men with good dairy experience.

It’s what their resumes and applications indicated. Gregg had
reportedly worked on his family’s dairy in Michigan and had been
honorably discharged from the military. Smith had worked on his
family’s dairy in Texas and had worked for a painter.

Showed experience

Their records indicated they were experienced for the job, and they
appeared that way, until late May when Conklin saw an undercover video
on the Internet program YouTube, depicting Gregg purposefully abusing
animals with pitchforks and metal bars, and Smith filming the actions
as they took place.

“From a credential standpoint he (Gregg) appeared good,” Conklin told
Farm and Dairy. “We had absolutely no idea anything was going on like
what was seen in the video.”

Gregg began working for the farm in November and Smith started in
April. Both workers typically completed an afternoon shift, Conklin
said, when other workers were not around.

As a cattle broker, Conklin said it’s the nature of his work to be off
the farm much of the day, which is partly the reason he did not
observe the abuse.

MFA testimony

Smith reportedly told law enforcement that he did not witness any
abuse by Conklin, and that Conklin did not know of the abuse by Gregg.

It was the intent of Mercy for Animals — the pro-vegan organization
that produced the film — to prove that the farm owner knew what was
happening and allowed it to continue.

“What we need to determine was not only that the cruelty was ongoing
and outstanding, but we needed to verify for law enforcement, who knew
about it, who was involved in it, how much the owner (Conklin) knew,
if he was involved — that’s the reason the investigation went on so
that we could provide everything,” said MFA Director of
Investigations, Daniel Hauff, the day Gregg was arraigned.

Charge the activists?

Union County Prosecuting Attorney David Phillips said the grand jury
also considered charges against MFA and Smith, whose videotaping of
the abuse spanned about a four-week period. Smith told deputies he
also had kicked animals and poked them with a pitchfork.

“He (Smith) claimed he did so to maintain his cover, and said he
didn’t use his full strength,” Phillips said in a released statement.
“The investigator told me that MFA was aware of the abuse, since he
reported to them on a daily (basis). MFA allowed the abuse to
continue, unreported, and the animals to suffer at the hands of Billy
Joe Gregg.”


MFA responded with its own statement, saying “this case graphically
illustrates that animal agriculture in Ohio is incapable of
self-regulation, and that stronger state and federal laws are urgently
needed to detect and deter future abuse.”

Phillips said it was wrong not to call law enforcement immediately.

“As soon as the investigator and MFA became aware of Gregg’s actions,
someone should have notified law enforcement or the humane society,”
he said. “Had they done so, much of the abuse at the hands of Billy
Joe Gregg shown on the video never would have happened, and the
animals would have been spared.”

No charges

Ultimately, the grand jury decided there was not enough evidence to
proceed against MFA.

Future plans. Conklin said he plans to increase the scrutiny of
applications before hiring again, and said he’s also working on ways
to increase the monitoring of employees and provide a standard method
to report any abuse that is seen, immediately.

Still, he can’t help but question all that has happened, and its timing.

“Was he there protecting us (and the animals) or was it more about
getting horrific video because they had a petition signature drive
going on?”

It’s a question he said he can’t answer, but one that should be
answered by each person.

“I think its incumbent upon the people of Ohio to draw their own
conclusion,” he said.

Clear focus

Right now, Conklin’s focus is on his business — now in its
fourth-generation — and keeping up the work he believes in.

“We’re just focussed on our safety and the well-being of our cows and
getting our business back on track,” he said.

He expressed his thanks for the support of local law enforcement and
the sheriff’s department, the prosecutor and members of the grand
jury, as well as the community and dairy industry, for their support
in upholding the law and his farm.


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Mac Leod Motto
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