Millstone Man Faces Animal Cruelty Charges

A Millstone man is accused of housing nearly 200 animals without fresh water and alongside dead animals.

An Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MCSCA) investigator responded to 45-year-old Christoph Lance Vaccaro's 153 Stillhouse Rd. home on Monday following reports of dead and dying animals and other animals living under less than acceptable conditions.

The investigator found approximately 100 goats, 80 sheep, six miniature donkeys, a miniature horse, a full-sized horse, several chickens, turkeys, peacocks, dogs and cats living in less the acceptable conditions, according to a press release from the Monmouth county Prosecutor's Office.

While walking the property, the investigator also discovered several sheep, goat and a deer carcasses among the living animals on the property. The animals most likely died from the winter's extreme cold, according to the MCSPCA.

The living animals were either without fresh water or with buckets of water that had frozen solid, the MCSPCA found.

Vaccaro faces five counts of failure to provide proper care, and not removing a dead animal carcass within 24 hours; five counts of failure to provide clean fresh water; and one count of failure to provide proper care for the full-sized horse.