Sheriff foster calves in animal abuse case
By Bethe Croy
Staff Writer
Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth temporarily adopted 15 calves during an animal abuse investigation on the Schmeckel farms in the Brighton and Paris Townships.
While cleanup and testing was underway, the calves began showing signs of improvement.
“They’re doing very well,” Beth said.
Beth said the calves range in age from about 2 months old to 6 or 7 months old.
The older calves were in decent condition, but the younger ones were in very poor condition when they first came into his care, he said.
Many of the younger ones had rashes on their skin and were missing hair, but now the hair is beginning to grow back and the rashes are being treated, Beth said.
He said other farmers would not be likely to take the cows because they were in poor shape and, if sick, could potentially contaminate other cows.
The farm where the calves were living was less than a mile away from his farm, and he happened to have a small pasture that wasn’t being used that was easily closed off from other animals, Beth said.
“It wasn’t really a hard decision,” he said.
Beth’s children went outside everyday to pet and feed the cows, he said, so they seem to be more social now as well.
The calves will now be in the care of Peter Schmeckel, the father of Jeffrey Schmeckel.