MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — A longtime Skagit County cattle rancher was sentenced to 30 days in jail and will pay $6,000 in fines for felony animal cruelty.
Roger Pederson, 93, entered an Alford plea to the charges last month. An Alford plea is a guilty plea in which a defendant maintains their innocence and does not admit to the criminal act they are accused of.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, authorities raided Pederson's Bay View ranch in January, finding 72 dead cattle. Many more were literally falling over from starvation. Another 15 had to be euthanized.
Court documents show an animal control officer spent eight days on the property and found many of the animals had "suffered slow, painful deaths" due to starvation and parasites.
Authorities said there was less than half the amount of food necessary to sustain the 150-head herd. Much of the food was rotting and inedible.
Prosecutors initially asked for a sentence of six months.
Back in 2018, prosecutors brought five felony charges for animal cruelty against Pederson. He pleaded not guilty to all of them.
A small group of demonstrators gathered outside of the courthouse this afternoon.
"These animals were starved to death and they were refused medical attention," Beverly Mowrer said. "He needs to be stopped and others who don't care about their animals need to be stopped.
This isn't the first time Pederson has been accused of animal cruelty.
In 2005, KING 5 cameras revealed 172 dead cattle on his land, left to rot and create a health hazard for neighbors.
Pederson was charged, but nothing ever came of it.