By Diane Petryk
SUNBURY — A district judge on Friday found two Shamokin area dairy farmers not guilty of animal abuse charges that stemmed from the filming of undercover footage taken by a convicted bank robber who was a volunteer with People from the Ethical Treatment Animals.
Judge Robert J. Bolton ruled Friday morning that neither Lloyd Reitz Sr., owner of Reitz Dairy Farm, nor his son Andy Reitz were guilty of failing to provide proper medical care to sick or injured cattle, of cruelty using a pocket knife, kicking and shocking them or failing to provide proper nutrition.
The cows that died were under the regular care of Dr. James Temple, a Sunbury veterinarian with 37 years of experience. The cattle were seen by Temple twice a month and were being given tests, antibiotics and other medical treatment, Bolton said.
The prosecution failed to say what caused the death of several cattle, Bolton said. The narrow hind-end look of some of the cattle is typical of cows that give milk and not a sign of malnutrition.
As for the described incident of pocket knife use, Bolton said it was not the blade end that was used, but the handle end, and it was used to stroke up the spine of a downed animal to get it to rise "” again a typical cattle-handling maneuver, he said.
Bolton said the prosecution also never identified the defendants.
Moreover, he found not credible the videotapes of prosecution witness Jeannette K. Aderhold, of Danville, purporting to show cattle left continually in dirt and feces. The tapes were not made at timed intervals, nor did they pan a wide area, Bolton said.
He said Temple testified that the pens were cleaned twice a week and were subject to unannounced inspections by Land 'O Lakes personnel, the company buying the milk produced.
Cows were washed of any dirt or feces, two times a day, if need be, before being milked, Bolton said. They did not walk around soiled all day, he said, as the witness claimed.
In the past, he said, Aderhold worked for the Reitz farm, quit, unsuccessfully tried to get unemployment compensation, and then was hired back.
She returned armed with a video camera provided by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Under questioning by special prosecutor Stephen Winning, of Philadelphia, Aderhold identified 14 cows she surreptitiously videotaped and photographed between March and September using PETA's equipment and her own video recorder, which had audio-taping capabilities. Defense Attorney Roger Wiest II asked Aderhold whether she knew it was illegal in Pennsylvania to audiotape anyone without their knowledge and objected to the videotape evidence containing audio and warned her she could face felony charges regarding to that. Aderhold also has a bank robbery conviction from her teenage years, according to court testimony.
Lloyd Reitz testified that he provided medical care to his animals, gave them freedom to roam and never mistreated them.
