Cruelty charges against an Arkansas horse trader accused of maltreating more than 100 animals have been dropped.

In 2011, Fulton County, Arkansas, sheriff’s deputies discovered more than 100 allegedly malnourished and neglected animals after responding to a call for help in rounding up escaped horses that had wandered onto a nearby highway. The responding deputy discovered the allegedly maltreated animals residing in a 6-acre corral on property owned by horse dealer Rodney Kankey. Sheriff's deputies also found horse carcasses at the scene.

At Fulton County authorities’ request, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and Humane Society of the United States personnel began investigating conditions at the property. Subsequently, acting on a warrant, authorities removed 116 horses from the site. Kankey was later charged with five felony and 113 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

Fulton County Circuit Court Clerk Vickie Bishop said Kankey appeared in court on May 12 and all the charges against him were dropped