Banned from owning horses

The distressing state of four horses found in a field so hungry that they were eating the bark off trees, led to a ban from keeping equines for their owner.

Thomas Whiteley (55) of Cummer, Ballywilliam was prosecuted under the Animal Health and Welfare Act for an offence dating back to March 1 of last year.

Evidence, with photographs of the scene, was provided to the District Court sitting in Gorey by the WSPCA’s Petrina Busher.

She told how she first called to the field on the Whiteley farm on February 19, 2016.

She discovered the animals to be in need of food, veterinary attention and foot care – ‘in very bad condition’ as the witness put it.

She inspected the field once more a few days later and discovered that nothing had changed.

She offered to take the animals into her care after learning that the owners had financial problems but this offer was declined.

Ms Busher arrived again on March 1 and saw the horses so undernourished, with no grass available to them, that they were eating bark off trees and branches on the ground.

One of the horses had skin tumours and another had a wound on its hind leg, while all four were neglected.

A vet was called and they were impounded, brought away to be wormed, fed and given hoof care by a farrier.

The witness from WSPCA reported that they were now in excellent condition but told the judge that they had cost the association €3,800 so far to look after.

The accused had refused to sign them over, so it had not been possible to find them new owners.

A plea of guilty to neglecting horses was entered by defending solicitor Lana Doherty who traced the problems back to the fact that her client had been diagnosed with diabetes.

Ms Doherty described what occurred as an unfortunate and unpleasant incident.

The judge took a break from the case, during which consent forms were signed releasing the horses to the WSPCA.

The defendant entered the witness box and told how he was devastated by the diabetes diagnosis and had very little energy at the time.

He remarked that it was nice to have horses and that he now had five ponies.

Judge Gerard Haughton responded that what occurred was a very bad case of animal neglect which he marked by recording a three month suspended jail sentence.

Whiteley was also banned from owning horses for two years.