Michigan man who police say let animals sicken, starve faces prison

A 32-year-old man from a rural area 40 miles north of Detroit was arraigned Thursday on animal cruelty charges involving dozens of starving and sickly animals at his petting zoo, authorities said.

Andrew Elroy Scott of Brandon Township faces up to four years in prison after an investigation at Scott's roadside farm found 26 animals in poor condition and five others dead, according to Oakland County Animal Control. 

Investigators had warned Scott in October to take better care of his brood, but when officers executed a search warrant last week, they found two calves, two goats and a rabbit dead in their pens. Another calf died a short time later, but the surviving 25 animals were moved to a rescue farm that cares for confiscated animals under a county contract, authorities said. Surviving the ordeal of malnutrition and disease were seven sheep, six miniature horses, six goats, five rabbits and a donkey, officials said.

Scott entered a plea of not guilty Thursday at his arraignment in Clarkston and was released under a judge's orders that he can't possess "or be in any way responsible" for animals while his case is pending, said Bob Gatt, manager of Oakland County Animal Control. He could not be reached after the hearing.

"This guy was a bad man," Gatt said Thursday, shortly after the arraignment at at 52-2 District Court.

"I want the word to go out, if you're going to abuse animals in Oakland County, we're going to do justice for these animals that can't speak for themselves," Gatt said. Investigating such cases is challenging — for this one, investigators needed multiple search warrants — and it requires close cooperation among the county prosecutor, county sheriff's office and animal control deputies, Gatt said.

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Scott's property is on several acres in northern Oakland County, a few miles north of the Pine Knob ski resort. The case began with a tip from a witness, who called the county's tip line for suspected animal cruelty (248-858-1070, ext. 2) to report that Scott's miniature horses looked malnourished, Gatt said.

That led to investigating executing a search warrant on Oct. 24 to inspect Scott's animals, he said. Many had been underfed and the miniature horses — whose feces underwent lab tests — "were loaded with worms," Gatt said. Animal Control officers accompanied by an equine veterinarian advised Scott to seek vet care and provide more food, then called a month later to schedule a follow-up visit, Gatt said. When Scott didn't answer repeated voicemails, deputies requested a second a search warrant last week and found "just a terrible situation," Gatt said.

A witness familiar with horses alerted OCAC to the condition of the animals in October after observing two miniature horses at the roadside petting zoo were thin. OCAC obtained a search warrant from 52-2 District Court on Oct. 24 to go onto Scott’s property in the 4500-block of Ramsey Road which is near the roadside stand. OCAC, accompanied by Oakland County Sheriff Brandon Township Substation deputies and an equine veterinarian, executed the search warrant the following day

Scott's next court date is scheduled for Dec. 20 at 10:00 a.m. in Clarkston.

Contact: blaitner@freepress.com