Farm owner faces animal cruelty charges

Emmett Andrew Freshcorn, 29, of Cranberry RD but living in Pittsburgh, is also charged with one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct for creating an offensive condition at an unspecified time Monday.

The neighbor told Graf her son sometimes sells oats and hay to Freshcorn, but Freshcorn had not been seen around the farm for about two weeks and she believed the animals on the farm were being neglected, according to the documents.

The neighbor said she suspected the animals were in poor health and in poor living conditions and that she has no contact information for Freshcorn, according to the documents.

Graf went to the Freshcorn farm and attempted to contact Freshcorn at his house, but Graf received no answer when he knocked on the door, according to the documents. Graf reported he went to a dilapidated barn near the house, looked inside and observed 10 piglets without food or water.

Graf, according to the documents, also reported that he entered the barn, opened a hay chute and observed five large pigs and seven additional piglets without food or water. Observing a human approaching, the pigs began to act in a panicked manner in anticipation of receiving food and water.

Graf went to the rear of the barn, where he observed two horses, according to the documents.

Graf could see the ribs of the lethargic and wheezing horses and that they had no access to food or water, according to the documents. He alleges the horses’ stalls were “covered in muck feet deep.”

Freshcorn said he was paying a local man $200 per month to care for the animals, according to the documents.

The two horses, Freshcorn said, were brought to his farm at his request after he heard of their abusive setting and told Graf that he wanted to help, according to the documents.

A preliminary hearing for Freshcorn is scheduled Sept. 19.