Report: Plea deal reached in Montana cattle starvation case
In this Tuesday, March 31, 2020, photo, Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter discusses his office seizing several hundred starving cows and calves west of Cascade, Mont. Slaughter and his staff learned of the starving black Angus herd after people who drove by the property reported seeing the dead cows. The Cascade County sheriff’s office, public works and the state Department of Livestock responded to the scene Tuesday to remove carcasses and feed the surviving animals. (Rion Sanders/The Great Falls Tribune via AP)
In this Tuesday, March 31, 2020, photo, the carcass of a dead cow lies in a pasture on Mission Road in Cascade, Mont. Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter and his staff learned of the starving black Angus herd after people who drove by the property reported seeing the dead cows, the Great Falls Tribune reported Tuesday. (Rion Sanders/The Great Falls Tribune via AP)
In this Tuesday, March 31, 2020, photo, several cows lay dead all presumed starved to death at a ranch west of Cascade, Mont. Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter and his staff learned of the starving black Angus herd after people who drove by the property reported seeing the dead cows, the Great Falls Tribune reported Tuesday. (Rion Sanders/The Great Falls Tribune via AP)
In this Tuesday, March 31, 2020, photo, the carcass of dead calf, which was born this year, lies in a pasture on Mission Road west of Cascade, Mont. The Cascade County sheriff’s office, public works and the state Department of Livestock responded to the scene Tuesday to remove carcasses and feed the surviving animals. The land is “grazed down to the dirt,” Capt. Scott Van Dyken said, noting the animals had no available food.(Rion Sanders/The Great Falls Tribune via AP)
In this Tuesday, March 31, 2020, photo, an emaciated cow in a pasture on Mission Road in Cascade, Mont., waits to be fed. A man is facing animal cruelty charges in central Montana after several hundred cows were found starving in the middle of calving season, including multiple cows that were found dead. (Rion Sanders/The Great Falls Tribune via AP)
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — A rancher has agreed to plead guilty to felony aggravated animal cruelty after more than 100 cows died of starvation in central Montana, a prosecutor said.
George J. Savoy, 57, signed the agreement Thursday, the Great Falls Tribune reported. His attorney, Jason Holden, did not immediately return a phone call Friday seeking further details.
Cascade County seized the herd March 30 after people reported seeing 230 starving black Angus in a herd between Cascade and Simms, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Great Falls. Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said at the time that no explanation had been given for the treatment of the animals.
County Attorney Josh Racki has agreed to recommend the court impose a six-year deferred sentence if Savoy assumes financial responsibility for the care of the seized cattle and immediately transfers them to his brother to sell in six months.
“Now he can’t have cattle for six years,” Racki said. “Really, what we’re trying to prevent is him having control of animals.”
Savoy must also allow authorities weekly checkups of the animals' conditions before their sale and take responsibility for disposing the carcasses of the dead cattle, prosecutors said.
Other conditions include paying the county restitution for its costs in seizing and caring for the cattle in the past week and a half. The amount has not been calculated.
A sentencing date has not been scheduled.
