Over 250 cattle found dead, dogs left in poor conditions at local rancher’s properties

EUREKA, CA. – There’s new information from the Humboldt County Sherriff’s Office on the animal cruelty investigation that started Tuesday.

Raymond Frank Christie, a rancher, was arrested after a raid on his properties by several local, state and federal agencies.

For five months, they had investigated scores of animal cruelty complaints, including cow bones and carcasses in or near waterways, and cattle confined with little or no feed.

Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies checked out the complaints and found them to be valid, leading to the raid.

During that search, officers and agents found 250 to 300 dead cows, with carcasses piled up in ten foot high mounds.

They also found carcasses lying in or near waterways, as well as malnourished cattle in small corrals.

Federal officials also found the livestock tags had been removed and they say Christie brought cows into California without a veterinary inspection or ID tags.

They also found improper disposal and storage of solid waste, cannabis permit violations, improper or illegal disposal of biohazard waste, and building code violations.

Humboldt County Animal Control discovered dogs in dirty conditions and without water, dogs kept on wire flooring, and without adequate space for them to move around.

Christie now faces charges of animal cruelty, causing an animal to be cruelly killed, failure to provide proper care to an animal, and disposal of a carcass with 150 feet of a state waterway.