'Babe' Star James Cromwell -- Slap on the Wrist After Cat Torture Protest

73-year-old "Babe" star James Cromwell got off easy after his disorderly conduct arrest last month ... when he burst into a UW-Madison board meeting, protesting cat torture at the university.

Cromwell's case was called today in Wisconsin where he pled no contest to a low level charge of disorderly conduct. His punishment is a measly $100 fine, which he paid on the spot.

As we reported, Cromwell was busted along with a PETA spokesperson after they barged into the board meeting, claiming the school's labs tortured cats in the name of science. Cromwell waved a sign with a photo of an abused cat, and shouted, "This is not science! This is cruel!"

A rep for the D.A. tells us, prosecutors went easy because the duration of yelling wasn’t particularly long, he cooperated with law enforcement, no one in the room was really disturbed by the protest, and he had no criminal history.

And it WAS kinda funny.