Two Howard County Men Charged with Animal Cruelty, Illegal Trapping

Two Howard County men have been charged with multiple counts of illegal trapping and animal cruelty for activities over a two-year period, the Maryland Natural Resources Police reported.

Eugene William Iager, 70, and Terry Lee Altman Jr., 28, both of Fulton, maintained as many as eight traps at a time at Maple Lawn Farm in the 11700 block of Scaggsville Road.

Responding to a complaint by a birdwatcher in 2015, an agency investigator found baited traps staked to the ground. Over the course of the investigation, the investigator found carcasses near the traps, most with injuries consistent with those found on trapped animals. The animals included a Great Horned Owl, a turkey vulture, foxes and raccoons and a crow.

On March 23, officers seized eight active traps from two sites and gathered evidence at the farm. A trail camera placed by the investigator showed Altman baiting and checking traps and removing two dead foxes after the fox trapping season in Howard County closed Feb. 1.

Great Horned Owls and turkey vultures are protected by both federal and state laws. There is no trapping season for crows.

Iager is scheduled to appear in Howard County District Court Aug. 2. He has been charged with three counts of hunting of wild birds, two criminal counts of animal cruelty and one count of hunting game birds. Iager was convicted in 2014 of illegally hunting wild birds. If convicted of all charges, he faces up to 90 days in jail and a maximum fine of $18,000.

Altman is scheduled to appear in Howard County District Court Sept. 28. He has been charged with seven counts of trapping fur-bearing animals out of season, two criminal counts of animal cruelty, two counts of trapping red foxes out of season and one count each of hunting wild birds out of season. If convicted of all charges, Altman faces up to 90 days in jail and a maximum fine of $17,000.