Farmer jailed for starving animals

A FARMER has been jailed after pigs and sheep were found starved to death on a farm in West Wales.

Toby Holland, of Maesgwyn, Blaenporth, in Ceredigion, was found guilty of a range of offences including unnecessary suffering and failing to meet the needs of animals.

A trial held in February, 2020, heard that animal welfare officers from Ceredigion Council had previously visited the farm and found a number of issues.

During the visit they found a sheep lying on its back unable to move. Officers said it was evident that the sheep had been there for some time and requested that Holland seek veterinary assistance.

However, when they returned the following day, on January 30, 2019, they discovered that treatment had not been requested and that the animal had in fact been left to die.

Officers also entered a barn which contained 19 pigs and found them to be “shrieking for food”. They said the pigs were “very thin” and were being kept in an accumulation of muck with no dry lying area available to them.

The pigs also had access to two dead pigs that were lying inside the barn, and a post-mortem on one of them revealed that it had likely died of starvation. A veterinarian who attended the farm concluded that both dead and alive pigs had been “suffering unnecessarily”.

In addition, a number of sheep carcasses were found on the land, strewn across fields, and were accessible to sheep that were still alive.

Then, a follow-up visit carried out four months later found that pigs on the farm were kept in a field where they had access to plastic bags containing metal sheeting with sharp edges, as well as animal bones and skulls.

Following the trial, a court warrant was issued for Holland’s arrest and he was arrested by police in December, 2020.

Last Wednesday, Holland, aged 49, was found guilty in his absence at Aberystwyth Justice Centre of 10 charges in total relating to Animal Welfare and Animal By-products offences.

He was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison and was banned from keeping any animals for two years. In addition to which, Ceredigion Council was awarded £750 in costs.

Following the sentencing, Councillor Gareth Lloyd, cabinet member for public protection services at Ceredigion Council, said: “The majority of farmers in Ceredigion have excellent farming practices that ensure the highest standards of animal welfare.

“Unfortunately we must deal with a minority who for whatever reason fail to meet basic legal standards. I wish to thank the partner agencies who assisted the authority in the investigation, and the officers for their hard work in handling a difficult case.”