Man handed lifetime horse ban as mare left to starve
RSPCA INSPECTOR BELIEVES ANIMAL, WHICH WAS CALLED PARIS, HAD BEEN NEGLECTED FOR SIX MONTHS OR MORE. PARIS HAD BEEN
A man has been banned from keeping animals for the rest of his life after he left a horse to starve.
Russel Whitehead’s horse, Paris, suffered for months before she died, to the point of having “no muscle on her body”, the RSPCA said.
Whitehead, 34, appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court to plead guilty to causing unnecessary suffering by failing to adequately “explore and address” the cause of her poor condition and failing to meet her welfare needs.
The RSPCA was alerted to her emaciated condition after photographs were posted online and went to the area to investigate in February.
A vet estimated the animal had been suffering for at least four to six months.
Whitehead, of Top Street, Appleby Magna, in north west Leicestershire, was ordered to carry out an 18-month community order of 300 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £200 court costs and a £95 victim surcharge.
Paris, previously known as Pour L’Amour, had been gifted to the defendant, according to RSPCA Inspector Rebecca-Jane Harlock, who attended the scene.
When she arrived, she was met by police officers alongside members of the public.
Whitehead informed Paris’ former owner, who came to remove the horse from his care. The former owner later transported the horse to an equine clinic where vets would examine her and provide the necessary care.
Tragically, although Paris had started to show signs of improvement, she had to be put to sleep after she developed colic a few days later – which within a few hours had become unmanageable with pain relief.
A post mortem examination confirmed the surgical colic diagnosis.
Speaking about the day she was called to the scene, Inspector Harlock said: “I went over to Paris and even with her rug on I could see her hip bones and that she had no muscle on her neck.
“With help from the police officers we moved her away from another two ponies and removed her rug.
“I could see she was extremely underweight, she had no muscle on her body, all her ribs and hip bones were visible.
“Poor Paris was in such a poor state and all this could have been avoided had she just been given the care she deserved or the defendant had asked for help from the owner, who we are grateful for all their support in helping Paris during her final days.”
In mitigation for the defendant, the court heard that the pressures of run
GIFTED TO THE DEFENDANT
ning his business had got on top of him and long-term staff sickness meant he had incereasingly less time to care for the horse.
A report by an expert vet who examined Paris concluded that: “There was no evidence that the horse was emaciated due to any other cause than inadequate consumption of nutrition. The chronic lack of nutrition led to catabolism of body fat and muscle.
“The neglect of preventative routine health care was evident in all aspects; foot trimming, dental care and basic grooming.
“The time period of suffering to get into this condition would be at least four months, more likely six months or more. The teeth appeared not to have been rasped for at least 12 months.”
Rasping is a routine process in equine dentistry involving removing potentially harmful sharp points and edges from the cheek teeth.
Whitehead admitted in court that his treatment was wholly inadequate and said he was remorseful.
He also accepted that he could have sought help if he was having difficulty managing Paris due to an agreement with the original owner who gifted him the horse.
He admitted it was always made it clear that he should get in contact if there were any problems and the owner would have taken the horse back – but Whitehead never advised them until it was too late, the RSPCA said.