CORNWALL — The former manager of a Connecticut farm has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for neglecting a herd of goats.
Prosecutors say many of the goats Michael Hearl was supposed to take care of at Butterfield Farm in Cornwall died or were ill.
Hearl was sentenced Tuesday, but allowed to remain free on bond while he appeals his conviction on 19 counts of animal cruelty. He tells the Republican-American he was not “calling the shots” at the farm and he actually tried to help the goats.
But prosecutors say the evidence shows that Hearl was making the decisions about the animals and that he provided misleading information on the feeding practices and goat mortality during an investigation in 2014 and 2015.
