Ronan man charged with cruelty to animals
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POLSON — A Ronan man has been hit with felony charges for not properly caring for his pigs. Joseph Christopher pleaded not guilty to felony aggravated animal cruelty in Judge Manley’s district courtroom Wednesday, Aug. 24.
Court documents allege that Christopher had a small pigpen on leased tribal land that contained six live pigs and three piglets. The pigs allegedly did not have water or shelter, and appeared extremely skinny with protruding pelvic bones and visible ribs.
A dead pig was found in a trailer, and another dead pig was found in a nearby pen. Large bones were found in the pen, including what appeared to be a pig’s jawbone. Law enforcement surmised that the live pigs ate the dead pigs.
The situation was discovered Nov. 4, 2015, by Willie Birthmark, Tribal Compliance Manager for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Five months prior to that, a Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy was informed of reports of animal cruelty at the same location and responded. After speaking to Christopher, Christopher vowed to fix the situation, which he did in June 2015, according to court documents.
Christopher’s next court appearance is set for Dec. 7, and a trial by jury is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2017.
