It was a horrifying sight for the policemen and women in the barn: dead cattle were lying on the ground everywhere, some of them already decomposed to the bone.

Between them stood a few very emaciated cows.

The district court in Ansbach therefore sentenced a 44-year-old farmer to a suspended sentence of one and a half years and a lifelong ban on keeping animals for fatal neglect of his fattening cows.

Even the expert from the veterinary office, who has already seen a lot, appears shaken by the abuses when she appears in court.

The death must have dragged on for months, says Birgit Badewitz.

"The animals were in different states of decomposition." Some of the bones were certainly a year old.

Farmer tried to cover up what was going on in his barn

After the discovery in May 2021, the authorities had five truckloads removed from the farm in the Bavarian district of Ansbach.

160 animals died there in agony because their owners had not provided them with adequate water and feed for a long time.

Others are in such a pitiful condition that a vet has to put them to sleep.

"It was a very long, gradual process," says Judge Armin Abendschein.

After taking over the business from his father, the accused took on more and more responsibility.

At some point, all the work got over his head.

The consequences gradually become clear during the negotiations: the farmer begins to neglect his office work, leaving letters and warnings behind.

The farm gets into financial difficulties.

Then comes the Corona crisis and the farmer says he can no longer market his cattle.

"That was the point at which despair set in for him," explains his defender Marc Zenner.

He slipped into depression and drugged himself with alcohol.

After finding the animals, he finally collapsed and received psychiatric treatment.

According to an expert report, he was less criminally responsible at the time.

At first glance, the pictures of the farm shown in court do not show the horror that took place in the stable.

Everything is neatly maintained, the office meticulously tidied up.

But corrugated iron is attached to an outside wall of the barn.

A police officer in the process explains the presumed reason: the wooden walls of the barn were scuffed in many places where cows probably tried to lick up condensation.

Some of the beams had also been nibbled on from hunger.

The accused probably covered the holes from the outside, says the officer.

The farmer tried to cover up what was going on in his barn, the judge also said later in the verdict.

According to the expert, the farmer does not tell his family about the problems.

He only went into the stable now and then.

Psychiatrist Peter Sauer says he was ashamed and did not seek help because he feared for his livelihood and his reputation.

The accused was heavily involved in village life: he was on the municipal council, in the voluntary fire brigade and in the farmers' association.

In the village, his business was considered exemplary.

According to the expert Badewitz, the veterinary office had never found any violations of the Animal Welfare Act during previous checks.

The 44-year-old has since given up his mandate and offices.

But he wants to continue his business: without animals, only with arable farming and a biogas plant.

The verdict is not yet legally binding.