The son of a famous purebred hog breeder has been banned from owning pigs after being convicted of animal cruelty.
Ben Stein, 28, and one of the heirs to Thames Bend Farms of Tavistock, was found guilty of allowing more than 1,000 pigs to starve in a manure-filled barn.
The sentence came Thursday after Stein pleaded guilty in January to four counts of animal cruelty:
- permitting an animal to be in distress;
- failing to provide adequate and appropriate sanitary conditions;
- failing to provide adequate and appropriate ventilation, and
- failing to provide adequate and appropriate medical attention.
The charges stemmed from an investigation in February, 2017.
