A photo of a sheep found tangled in wire on the farm in Millstone. The sheep's leg was injured and later had to be amputated, authorities said. (Debra Nagel)

MILLSTONE - A farm owner and his girlfriend admitted today to three counts of improper care of an animal and a judge ordered that they remove the approximately 200 sheep and goats from the property.

After the state presented its case during a trial, Millstone residents Christopher Vaccaro and Tina Perna pleaded guilty to the disorderly persons charges, according to Prosecutor Richard Kelly.

"It's the animal's version of a death camp," Kelly said of the farm. "I don't think the defendants have caused this situation because they're mean or nasty people, I just think that they're hoarders and in this case they're hoarding living things ... and they're over their head and they can't keep up with it."

Judge Nicole Sonnenblick also ordered that the couple submit an animal removal plan by April 7 and have the animals off the property within 30 days, Kelly said. The Monmouth County SPCA will continue to be allowed to inspect the property.

If Perna and Vaccaro do not comply with the order, they would be sentenced to 30 days jail, Kelly said. In exchange for the plea, the state dismissed the remaining 15 counts each of animal cruelty from a February inspection of the farm.

"Our interest in this was to remove the animals from the environment in which they were in," Kelly said. "The state's purpose was accomplished."

MCSPCA Agent Debra Nagel testified that on Sept. 1, 2014 she was alerted to a dead animal on Vaccaro's farm and was able to see the carcass from the roadway. Vaccaro took her to the carcass, which she said was very decomposed and the head was wrapped in wire.

While on the property, Nagel testified that she also saw a sheep with its head and front leg wrapped in the same type of wire, unable to move but alive, and she was able to rescue the animal. She said the sheep's leg was injured and later was amputated by a veterinarian.

Nagel also said that two other dead goats were found on the property, which were lying in bedding that was covered in feces.

"The bedding, it was filthy," she said.

The state also called an expert witness, Dr. Anne Pierok, a veterinarian at the state's Department of Agriculture Division of Animal Health, who testified that she had been called to the Vaccaro's farm several months before, in May, and spoke to them about decreasing their population.

Pierok also testified that the animal whose carcass was entangled in wire "suffered a terrible death" and that the sheep that was found alive trapped in wire was "absolutely" in pain.

After seeing photos of the three dead animals and the tangled sheep that the MCSPCA took in September, Pierok appeared surprised at what she saw.

"This is horrible, this is a nightmare," she testified, adding that the pictures appeared in noncompliance with state regulations. "I've never seen such a case of horror."

Last year, Vaccaro also admitted to failure to provide care as part of a plea deal after he was accused of keeping hundreds of animals in "deplorable" conditions.

A former chief at the MCSPCA, Stuart Goldman, filed a civil suit against the couple, which is pending. Superior Court Judge Patricia Del Bueno Cleary ordered last month that the Millstone couple provide appropriate care and said she would address whether animals should be permanently removed from the farm in April.

Ashley Peskoe may be reached at apeskoe@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ashleypeskoe. Find NJ.com on Facebook.