Southern Oregon goat dairy owners indicted on neglect charges

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, March 4, 2026

A Malheur County grand jury indicted operators of a Nyssa, Ore., goat dairy on charges of animal neglect.

Taunia Faye Barr is charged with one count of animal neglect in the first degree and 245 counts of animal neglect in the second degree, according to a Feb. 26 indictment. Counts 1-239 are felony charges, counts 240–246 misdemeanor charges. The case number is 26CR11460.

Aaron Thomas Barr is charged with 246 counts of animal neglect in the second degree, according to a separate Feb. 26 indictment. Counts 1-239 are felony charges, counts 240–246 misdemeanor charges. The case number is 26CR11405.

They could not be reached immediately.

Each indictment says the respective defendant “did unlawfully and with criminal negligence fail to provide minimum care” to an animal in his or her custody or control. The alleged incidents occurred between mid-August and early February at Grand Barr Dairy.

Next steps are arraignments on the indictments, “and then we will work our way toward trial, or plea deals,” Oregon Department of Justice communications director Jenny Hansson told Capital Press. The department, which is the state attorney general’s office, is co-counsel with the Malheur County district attorney’s office.

The arraignments are set for 1 p.m. March 17 for Aaron Barr and 1 p.m. March 24 for Taunia Barr, said an employee of Malheur County Circuit Court in Vale.

Malheur County district attorney Dave Goldthorpe said that because no one on his staff had handled an animal case of this type and scale, he called the attorney general’s office.

Two undercover investigations by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals factored into the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office removing goats from the Grand Barr property.

The sheriff’s office executed a seizure warrant Feb. 4. Investigators documented 239 goats on the property. Three were euthanized under a veterinarian’s supervision and more than 200 were sent to an out-of-state dairy The sheriff’s office kept and cared for the rest of the goats until they could be relocated.

The Barrs “now face the prospect of trial for denying veterinary care to goats suffering from emaciation, lameness, and lice and maggot infestations, and PETA hopes any conviction will include a lifetime ban on owning animals,” PETA vice president Daniel Paden said in a news release. He thanked the Oregon Department of Justice for “stepping in to pursue help for these goats.”

About 34 of the goats have been sent to two different sanctuaries so far, he said in an interview. “We’ve been advocating that as many of the goats as possible be sent to sanctuaries.”