A marathon cattle rescue effort by the Oregon Humane Society and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office concluded late yesterday evening with a total of 164 neglected cattle removed from three separate properties. What began with the execution of a search warrant at 7:00 am on July 26 ended with the final group of neglected cattle being transported to a new pasture at midnight.

The largest group of rescued cattle numbered 146 and came from a ranch on Dutch Canyon Road in Scappoose owned by William Holdner. “I am extremely glad that we could help these emaciated cattle and get them to new pasture where they will get much-needed food,” said OHS Executive Director Sharon Harmon. Earlier in the day, OHS and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office seized 20 cattle from a Holdner property on Johnson Landing Road in Scappoose and from Holdner’s residence on Viewcrest Drive in Warren. “We appreciate the hard work of the Sheriff’s office and the District Attorney to help these animals,” said Harmon.

OHS Humane Officers cited Holdner with second-degree animal in neglect in November 2011, based on the emaciated condition of the cattle on his property. OHS found many of the cattle to be 50 percent underweight, with protruding hips clearly visible. Subsequent visits by OHS, authorized by a court sentence that gave Holdner 90 days to liquidate the cattle operation because of environmental violations, found little improvement. OHS is paying the costs to rescue, transport, feed and care for the cattle seized yesterday.

“We have an ongoing understanding with the Oregon Humane Society, whose agents handle most of the animal abuse complaints in Columbia County that are not associated with dogs,” said Columbia County Sheriff Jeff Dickerson. “In this case, Oregon Humane Society agents enlisted our help in investigating these crimes and executing the search warrant. Our efforts were greatly helped by the knowledgeable OHS staff, who provided the expertise necessary to develop the probable cause for this warrant, as well as assisting us in identifying the cattle requiring immediate intervention.”

Pet Press news item courtesy the Oregon Humane Society (OHS)
http://www.oregonhumane.org/