A Georgia man accused of neglecting 40 horses on his Habersham County farm has pleaded no contest to the animal cruelty counts against him.

County animal control authorities and personnel from the Lil One’s Ridin’ Ranch horse rescue removed the animals in September after county officials assumed an earlier Georgia Department of Agriculture investigation into a neighbor’s complaint about the horses’ condition.

The animals’ owner, James Tillman Goss, was later charged with 40 counts of animal cruelty and 40 counts of violating Georgia’s Humane Care for Equines Act.

Goss entered the no contest plea on April 18 in Habersham County State Court. The court ordered that the removed animals be returned to Goss and ordered him to serve 12 months non-reporting probation. Georgia Department of Agriculture personnel will inspect the animals every 30 days during the probation period. Goss was also ordered to pay $275 in fines