Council issues reminder to farmers following animal health prosecution
30 September 2024
The reminder has been issued by Powys County Council's Animal Health Team after they successfully prosecuted a north Powys farmer for causing unnecessary suffering and failing to provide adequate care to sheep and cattle on their farm.
The defendant, who pleaded guilty to several offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, received a 24-week prison sentence, suspended for year, by Llandrindod Wells Magistrates Court on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
The farmer was also banned from being involved with livestock including the keeping of and dealing with livestock in any way. The banning order comes in on 1 January 2025 to give the defendant three months to dispose of her livestock.
Magistrates also ordered the defendant to pay £1,600 costs and a victim surcharge of £154.
The court heard about the severe offences committed which included extreme cases of flystrike, where animals were shaking from being eaten alive by the spawn from flies which had infested into the skin of sheep.
76 sheep were left with thirst due to the insufficient provision of water and 11 lambs were left malnourished with chronic body conditions due to insufficient sufficient feed and fresh water.
A cow and its calf were not provided with sufficient dry-ling. Two sheep were found in a recumbent state and left to die without water, feed and bedding.
Cllr Richard Church, Cabinet Member for a Safer Powys, said: "We will not accept suffering cases like this to go unpunished.
"We welcome the sentencing by the court and this is a clear warning to the farming community that practices such as this will mean that we will apply for banning orders to prevent offenders from holding livestock.
"Our Animal Health Team rightly took the offences seriously and acted, which has resulted in this successful prosecution. If we come across similar cases to this in the future, we will prosecute."
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