Court Appearances Set for Alpaca Abuse Case

A Cortland County man is to be back in court in July after being formally charged with cruelty in the deaths of 143 alpacas he was supposed to be taking care of.

Dayton Wood of Marathon appeared in court May 11 following his arrest at the end of April.

He is accused of failing to provide food, shelter and veterinary care for the animals at the farm that employed him.

21 Alpacas at the Sam Groome Alpaca Farm survived.

The owner of the farm lives in Florida and was not aware of the situation.

Wood is charged with 143 counts of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals and failure to provide proper sustenance.

Each charge carries a maximum of a year in prison and $1,000 fine.