A Grant County, Okla., man accused of starving horses and dumping more than 30 animal carcasses in a ravine on his farm was charged with seven felony counts of animal cruelty Dec. 19.

George Wesley Gilchrist, 43, was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of leaving a carcass in a well, pond or stream of water. Deputies who searched his farm northwest of Medford recently found two dead donkeys floating in a pool of water that was the only source of water for surviving animals, according to an affidavit.

"I don't know how anybody could do this," said Kristy Krueger, an Enid veterinarian who is caring for the surviving horses.

Krueger suspects the dead animals floating in the water died of starvation. There was no vegetation on the ground or other food to be found on the farm, she said, and the horses were eating sticks and dirt.

Gilchrist was given until Dec. 21 to surrender, Grant County Sheriff Roland Hula said. If convicted, Gilchrist could face up to five years in prison for the felony offenses and up to a year in prison for the misdemeanors. Each of the counts against him also is punishable by a fine of up to $500, Blanton said.

Animal cruelty complaints were filed last week after deputies found seven malnourished horses. A mule on the man's property was so sick it had to be euthanatized immediately, and one of the horses died Sunday while in the care of a local veterinarian.

There also were two dead pigs and three dead cows in a pen, and two other animal carcasses lying in a dry pond.

In a ravine that runs into a creek on the farm, deputies found about 34 domestic animal carcasses and other decaying carcasses, and bones that appeared to have been dumped there, according to the affidavit.

Krueger said she heard deputies found a large stockpile of other dead animals on the farm but couldn't bring herself to examine them.

"I didn't even go over there. I didn't want to see them," Krueger said.

Four of the horses are making a slow recovery at an Enid-area farm, but one appears to be too ill to save. There were about 63 other surviving donkeys, cattle, pigs and sheep on the farm that were not seized because they did not appear to be in immediate danger of dying, Hula said.

Prosecutors are seeking seven counts of animal cruelty against Gilchrist based on the horses that still were alive last week, said Melissa Blanton, assistant district attorney for Grant County.

Krueger said several people already have inquired about the seized horses, but they are too sick to be adopted or moved to a horse sanctuary near Holdenville.