TAVARES, Fla. — A livestock welfare complaint led authorities to a Tavares pasture where multiple cattle were found severely emaciated Monday, launching an animal neglect investigation, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Around 1:15 p.m., Lake County Agricultural/Marine Unit and Animal Enforcement officers responded to 28304 Atlantis Road in unincorporated Tavares. From the roadway, deputies could see several zebu-type cattle in an enclosed pasture in poor condition, with ribs, spines and pelvic bones clearly visible, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Stephanie Earley told Inside Lake.
The pasture consisted largely of bare sand and appeared to lack an adequate food source, Earley said. Authorities obtained a search warrant for the property, but the owner surrendered the livestock before it was executed.
The investigation remains ongoing, and criminal charges are possible, Earley said.
