An unusual case of animal cruelty kept the police in the Schärding district busy in recent weeks: A 56-year-old farmer had applied pesticides to his corn fields in the municipality of St. Marienkirchen using his tractor with an attached field sprayer.
Although the man was authorized to apply the weed killer, he may have ignored the wind conditions that morning. Gusty winds of up to 40 km/h caused the spray to blow onto the neighbor’s property, where a flock of sheep was grazing.
Five ewes died over the next few weeks, police reported in a press release on Tuesday. The incident occurred in May. The farmer is being charged with animal cruelty.
