2 men who dragged bull charged with second-degree animal cruelty

The King County Prosecutor's Office on Friday filed charges of second-degree animal cruelty against two men accused of dragging a bull behind a car in the Auburn area on July 5.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office on Friday filed charges of second-degree animal cruelty against two men accused of dragging a bull behind a car in the Auburn area on July 5.

Jonas Arbrister, 75, and Terrance Neff, 57, will be arraigned at 8:45 a.m. Aug. 21 at 8:45 a.m. in King County District Court at the Burien Courthouse.

Arbrister and Neff said they had been trying to move the bull to a nearby pasture, but it was “stubborn.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Prosecutors found insufficient evidence to file animal cruelty in the first degree, a charge reserved for cases involving deliberate acts of cruelty or torture. Second-degree animal cruelty, a misdemeanor, is reserved for cases where neglect or recklessness has caused unnecessary suffering or pain to an animal. If convicted, the men could be looking at a sentence of up to 90 days in jail and a fine as high as $1,000.

The Sheriff’s Office received several 911 calls about 4:30 p.m. that day from citizens reporting that a 1989 Buick Century was “dragging a cow with a rope” in the 4200 block of South Star Lake Road in unincorporated King County near Auburn.

Deputies found the car with the rope around the cow’s neck and attached to the “B” pillar of the car. The cow was lying in the roadway on his stomach, with all four legs splayed outward. There were open bleeding wounds around the hooves and legs.

A witness told deputies that the car had been pulling the bull down the roadway with the rope cinched up around its neck in a slipknot. He said the bull was obviously in distress and strongly resisting as it was pulled down the street, causing hoof and leg injuries, until it collapsed where deputies found it. The cow finally stood up, in obvious pain, and was moved carefully off the roadway to a grassy shoulder.

Arbrister and Neff said this is how they always move this cow because “he is stubborn.” Neff told deputies the cow wasn’t hurt, adding, “You have to be like that with cows.”

Based on statements from the men and drag marks on the pavement, deputies estimated the cow was pulled along for about a half-mile.

Deputies found bloody streaks on the asphalt where the bull was pulling back on the rope. One of the streaks was about 20 feet long

For safekeeping, the cow was turned over to the Washington State Animal Response Team, which brought a trailer and administered medicine to relieve its pain.