Farmer convicted of animal cruelty and of selling tainted meat

Carroll County (Map, News) - A judge found a Carroll County farmer guilty Monday of animal cruelty and of selling tainted meat from a farm where investigators saw pigs cannibalizing on dead swine and customers killing animals in a slaughterhouse coated with blood and guts.

Carroll Circuit Court Judge Thomas Stansfield found Carroll Schisler Sr., 61, of New Windsor, guilty of animal cruelty, animal neglect, feeding garbage to swine and chickens, failing to provide pigs with adequate space, selling tainted meat, delivering food without a permit, littering and polluting Sam’s Creek with animal waste.

“I've been to butcherings growing up and saw a propensity for places to keep huge piles of junk … and that was the way of life,” Stansfield said.

“Now we have a more sophisticated and educated society. People are more aware of the dangers of contaminated food.”

He sentenced Schisler to more than 10 years of suspended jail time, suspended fines and five years of supervised probation.

Schisler also must cease slaughterhouse operations and remove all animal carcasses, buckets and vehicles from his farm.

During raids last year, investigators witnessed 20 decomposing pigs and cows, dying animals with no food or water, and a blood-caked butcher shop where customers cut up goats and chickens, state prosecutor Melissa Hockensmith said.

Schisler, who pleaded not guilty but waived his right to a jury trial, said he bought animals near death at livestock auctions, nursed them back to life with ice cream mix and resold them for profit.

“Do you think pigs would eat off dead animals if they had fresh ice cream?” he said.

Schisler bought one pig for 50 cents but it later died. That hog tested positive for trichinosis, a parasite harmful to humans, causing officials to quarantine the farm.

Schisler’s lawyer, Roland Walker, said he plans to appeal the court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence gathered from a search warrant initially granted to investigate a stolen motorcycle.

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com