EAST YORKSHIRE
PERSONS
CONVICTED 49
TOTAL
CONVICTIONS 90
Investigating officer:
RSPCA Inspector
Geoff Edmond
Defendant:
Male 35, unknown
Offence:
Animal Welfare Act 2006 s4
Plea:
Guilty
Total convictions:
One
Sentence:
Disqualified from
keeping equines for life;
16 weeks' imprisonment.
Prosecuted by:
Freeman Brown Solicitors
East YorkshireFamilies enjoying an afternoon on the beach in
fine weather were left shocked and distressed after
witnessing a horse suffering a terrible death.
Members of the traveller
community had been driving their
horses and traps up and down the
beach. Witnesses described one
horse in particular as looking tired
and exhausted, she been driven
on the beach for a significant
period of time, then taken further
and further into the sea until
only her head and neck could be
seen. An eyewitness was 'shocked
and horrified' when he saw the
mare 'stumbling in distress'. The
trap became submerged and the
horse was seen struggling to stay
afloat then disappearing under
the water.
Witnesses called the police, who
called the RSPCA for assistance.
At first, it was thought the
mare had drowned, however a
post-mortem showed that she
had suffered haemorrhaging in
her head and upper body as a
result of rapidly increasing blood
pressure. An independent vet
said: "The magnitude of the
horse's suffering would have
been extreme."
The defendant's conduct had a
significant impact on the large
number of people on the beach
that day; they described a sense
of shock and distress.
EAST SUSSEX
PERSONS
CONVICTED 12
TOTAL
CONVICTIONS 26
Investigating officer:
RSPCA Inspector Andrew Kirby
Defendants:
Female 48, unemployed;
female 17, unemployed
Offences:
Animal Welfare Act 2006 s4
and s9
Pleas:
Older female found guilty in
absence; younger female guilty
Total convictions:
Eight
Sentence:
Older female disqualified from
keeping animals for five years;
10 days attendance on Aspire
course; 160 hours' unpaid work;
£250 costs. Younger female
disqualified from keeping
animals for three years;
six-month youth referral order.
Prosecuted by:
David Buck & Co Solicitors
East SussexA woman and her daughter were convicted of
causing unnecessary suffering to two male pot-bellied
pigs, which they had left to starve in an alleyway.
RSPCA Inspector Andrew Kirby
found one pig already dead and
the other collapsed, cold and
unresponsive. Inspector Kirby
could clearly see the spines, hips
and breastbones of both pigs
through their skin. The build-up
of faeces in the alleyway
indicated they had been there for
approximately four to five days,
in appalling conditions. A wooden
board blocked off one end of the
passageway and a baby gate the
other. There was no food, water,
shelter or bedding; the pigs were
forced to lie on concrete.
A vet described the pigs as
'emaciated', and advised the
surviving one needed to be
euthanased to end his suffering.
When interviewed, the
defendants claimed the pigs
must have entered the alleyway
and somehow closed the gate
behind themselves.
Humberside Police
14 PROSECUTIONS
Annual report OUR FRONTLINE WORK
2014