A 28 year old man from Tavistock has entered a guilty plea in one of the largest cases of Animal Cruelty in Canadian history.
TAVISTOCK - A 28 year old man from Tavistock has plead guilty in one of the largest cases of animal cruelty in Ontario.
Ben Stein entered the plea on Thursday inside the Simcoe Courthouse according to a report from the Simcoe Reformer. Stein plead guilty to four counts of animal cruelty. In the plea, his lawyer cited mental health issues as a contributing factor in the case.
Stein was initially charged after the investigation into the death of over 1,000 pigs in his care at a farm near Langton.
SPCA officers visited his farm in Langton after getting a tip about the welfare of the pigs on February 17th. They say they found the pigs buried in a manure filled barn in total darkness and found dead pigs and dying pigs with no access to food.
An estimated 1,265 pigs were dead when officers arrived and an additional 250 pigs had to be euthanized on-site due to the severe condition in which they were found.
Animal rights activists were at the courthouse for the hearing this morning from Kitchener Waterloo and London.

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