Animal health offences costs Powys man £13,000

17 May 2024

A series of animal health offences, including causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, has cost a north Powys man £13,000 after they were prosecuted by the county council.

Robert Evans of Tafolwern Farm, Llanbrynmair was prosecuted by Powys County Council's Animal Health Team for failing to maintain animal medicine records, failing to dispose of fallen livestock correctly; causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and failing to provide an animal with adequate care.

The defendant, who had previously pleaded guilty to the animal medicine and fallen stock offences at an earlier hearing, appeared before a District Judge at Llandrindod Wells Magistrates Court on Wednesday, May 15 where he was found guilty of another two animal welfare charges. Evans was found not guilty of two other offences.

Evans was fined £1,500 for each of the four charges, ordered to pay a court surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £5,000, at total of £13,000.

At the trial, the District Judge stated that he had demonstrated a "cavalier attitude" to his farm management and warned that if he was found guilty of similar offences in the future consideration would be given to banning him from keeping animals, effectively putting him out business.

Cllr Richard Church, Cabinet Member for a Safer Powys, said: "The defendant's non-compliance with maintaining records of animal medicines administered to his animals had the potential to endanger the food supply.

"When it was found that he was not ensuring the welfare of his animals and not complying with record keeping requirements, our officers rightly took the offences seriously and acted, which has resulted in this successful prosecution."