Saddened by story

Dear Editor,

As my husband and I finished chores and drove through the cows that are calving one more time, I couldn't help but think how lucky our cows are and the horrific life of the cattle we have been reading about in the Gazette. I am saddened and sickened by the stories and (in my opinion) the disgusting decision made by the Red Willow County officials.

How could this person not think about his cattle on at least a daily basis? No matter what time of the year, cattle need water. When I think of his cattle out on the ice, dying there in need of water, it is so difficult for me to even begin to understand how a person could be this ignorant. If a person cannot feed or water his animals, why in the world would you not want to sell them? Not for the money, but most of all to give the animals a fighting chance in a caring home?

Like so many of the other letters of concern on this subject, I have #a hard time understanding how a person could not feed or water an animal. That he could have such lame excuses for not getting these poor animals to a sale barn and better environment is even more disturbing.

I like to consider myself and my husband ranchers. Ranchers have compassion and know that they are the caretakers of the animals they own. Where is the justice for these animals that perished and the ones that nearly did?

Again, as I watch my baby calves play and see their mothers worry about how far they might run, two words come to my mind: responsibility and accountability. There is a huge ache in my heart and a tear in my eye when I feed my animals and think of what he did or didn't do for his livestock.

It just seems to me that our system and this man neither one are accountable or responsible for their actions.

Saddened and Sickened in Decatur County

Diana L. Steinmetz

Oberlin