Source:  Various

The Sheriff of Greenbriar County, West Virginia, has arrested the 83-year-old owner of a farm where at least 25 horses were found dead.  He has been charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty.

The Register-Herald Reporter of Beckley, WV, described the gruesome discovery awaiting sheriff's deputies who were investigating on the basis of an anonymous tip.  

Remains of the animals were found without any feed available on the 300 acre farm.  

There are currently at least 85 to 100 horses on the property.  The sheriff said that provisions for feeding the surviving animals, some of which are pregnant, would be made.

The owner, Grady Whitlock, had a previous history with animal control authorities regarding  neglected miniature horses on the same property.  Whitlock did not own those animals and the unidentified person who did eventually moved them.   

In addition, Whitlock owns other farms in the vicinity on which dead animals have been reported.  Authorities are investigating those accounts now.

An AP report states that the WV Department of Agriculture is evaluating the situation and will manage the disposition of the remains.