Court fines former farm owner after 32 cattle carcasses left to rot

A former cattle farm operator in Liperi was fined after leaving 32 cattle carcasses to decompose on the property, Yle reported. The North Karelia District Court ordered him to pay 32 day-fines, amounting to 192 euros.

The carcasses were found in May 2025 in various stages of decomposition. Several were behind the barn under a tarpaulin, while others were found inside a production building. They smelled strongly and fluids were leaking into the surrounding environment.

The municipal veterinarian received an outside tip about the animals and discovered the carcasses during an inspection. The farm was bankrupt at the time.

The bankruptcy administrator had called the former operator on December 30, 2024, when the bankruptcy began, and asked whether there were animals on the farm. The operator said there were none.

In principle, a bankruptcy estate is responsible for caring for animals and properly disposing of dead animals. The court said the administrator was not responsible in this case because they had not known about the live or dead animals.

The former operator told police that some calves had died from viral diarrhoea in March 2025. He said he had killed some of the animals himself with a captive-bolt gun. He also said he could not arrange carcass transport because he had unpaid bills.

He told police that the last dairy cows had left the farm in July 2024 and that he killed the remaining animals during the second week of March 2025 because only two bales of feed remained.

The municipal veterinarian suspected that serious shortcomings in the animals’ care had caused their deaths. Police also suspected the man of aggravated animal welfare offences, but the prosecutor decided not to bring charges on those grounds.

The district court ruling is not final and can be appealed.