UNITED KINGDOM -- Some of the emaciated animals were covered in rotting flesh and bald patches, while others were suffering from liver damage or weeping sores.
For all of them, home was an overgrazed muddy field in Edgworth, Lancashire, strewn with broken glass, building materials and bits of fencing and wiring, a court heard.
Now the ‘horse lover’ who kept 17 of the animals in such ‘appalling’ conditions has been fined almost £86,000.
Breeder Philip Davies has also been banned from keeping horses for life after RSPCA officers and vets discovered these horrifying scenes at his farm.
As they crossed fields owned by Davies, 65, they were ‘shocked’ by the conditions the horses were being kept in.
Yesterday, Davies, of Edgworth, was found guilty of 52 counts of animal cruelty. He had already admitted two counts of failing to protect the animals from pain, injury and suffering, and two counts of failing to provide a suitable environment.
Davies first came to the attention of the RSPCA in November last year after newly-qualified equine vet Vikki Fowler found a two year-old chestnut mare lying in a ditch at his farm, drowning in mud.
As the Mail reported, the horse, renamed Hope by her rescuer, was skeletal and helpless when she was discovered, shivering with cold and entangled in barbed wire.
Iain O’Donnell, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, told Hyndburn Magistrates’ Court: ‘The horse was lying in a stream at the bottom of the field, with its head resting on a dog basket.
‘She was described as underweight and lethargic and had got tangled in the barbed wire of the fence in an attempted jump. She looked exhausted and cold.’
The young vet who organised Hope’s rescue was so appalled when the RSPCA refused to prosecute the owner that she paid £1,500 to buy the horse in a desperate attempt to save it.
Then she started a Facebook campaign to highlight the plight of Hope and the other shires in a bid to ‘shame’ the animal charity into action. The campaign attracted worldwide interest and more than 7,500 followers as there were fears that other horses on the farm could perish. Three weeks later, the charity finally took action against Davies and the horses were removed from the farm.
The court heard the 17 animals had lice, mite and worm infestations, foot rot, and liver damage caused by eating poisonous ragwort weeds.
While giving evidence Davies, who bred horses for a hobby, said he had owned horses for 54 years, but he admitted he did not have a programme to tackle, treat or prevent lice, mites or worms.
He told the court he fed horses excessive numbers of carrots as a way of ‘flushing’ out worms, instead of traditional medication. He also stated he cleaned the horses’ feet ‘around twice a week’ but could not provide dates.
Equine vet Simon Constable, who examined the animals, said there was evidence they had been ‘constantly standing in filthy conditions’. He found the horses to be underweight, disinterested and unsteady.
'Many of them were suffering from skin trauma and had patches of baldness and open sores due to lice infestations. It is unusual that such a large group of horses were kept in a field but it doesn’t matter if you have one horse or 17 – they should not be neglected like this.’
'She was...underweight and lethargic and had got tangled in the barbed wire of the fence in an attempted jump. She looked exhausted and cold' said Iain O’Donnell, prosecuting.
During the two-day trial, Davies pleaded not guilty to the 52 counts of causing unnecessary suffering between October and December last year.
Following the guilty verdict, he was ordered to pay £85,736 in RSPCA expenses and costs.
He was also tagged for 12 weeks under an 8pm to 7am curfew order and instructed to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work, as well as being disqualified from keeping horses indefinitely.
The RSPCA transferred most of the untamed horses to 300-acre stables in Hull for treatment and rehabilitation. A further two had to be sedated before being taken to stables in Bolton. Hope remains with Miss Fowler.
Miss Fowler, 26, who picked up a Vet of the Year award in the House of Lords this week for her work on the campaign, said she was ‘delighted’ with the verdict.
(Daily Mail UK - Oct 25, 2012)
