A Presque Isle County man is facing a felony and three misdemeanor charges related to animal abuse.
Scott Allen Thompson, 56, of Hawks, was arraigned Aug. 2 following an animal cruelty investigation.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said it found ten dead animals on his property and numerous others starving, without water and living in "poor conditions."
The DNR seized and relocated 75 animals that included: geese, sheep, chickens, pigs, horses, dogs, mini cows, turtles, goats, cats and a turkey and rabbit.
The investigation started with a complaint through Central Dispatch in Montmorency County of a dead horse on the 50-acre Thompson family property in Atlanta.
Domestic animal complaints and investigations are not the primary focus of the DNR, but Sgt. Paul Fox said the rural county has no dedicated animal control officer, and no other units were available to respond to the call.
"So one of our (DNR) officers responds there, sees the dead horse, and then notices, 'oh, my word, there's several emaciated animals. None of them have food. None of them have water,'" Fox said. "And that's what set this whole thing into motion."
The specific charges include a felony to provide animals with adequate care, a misdemeanor of animal cruelty and two misdemeanors for improper burial of dead animals.
Fox said the investigation is still ongoing, and the DNR is seeking a second suspect.
He told WCMU this is not the first time members from the Thompson family have been involved with animal cruelty allegations over the past decade.
Christine Kay Thompson received 18 months probation in August 2013 after pleading guilty to one count of animal abandonment or cruelty. Christine Thompson also pleaded guilty in two separate cases in 2018 and 2021 for counts of animals running at large. Additional charges in those cases were dismissed.
"We want this problem to be done with. I'm tired of seeing this repeat behavior," Fox said. "Once we sunk our teeth into this investigation, we were determined we're not gonna let go of it. We want to see it through to the end."
Thompson pleaded not guilty to all four charges. His next hearing is set for Aug. 16.
Editor's note: We note the Michigan DNR is a sponsor of WCMU. We report on them as we do with any other organization.
