Two people have been convicted of farm animal cruelty which the RSPCA says is one of the most horrific scenes it has ever come across.
Inspectors uncovered sheep, pigs, cows, goats and horses struggling for survival amid piles of dead livestock, with some trapped in faeces, at Ingst Manor Farm in Olveston, Bristol.
The farm was visited by inspectors in March 2015 after concerns were raised.
Hundreds of dead animals and body parts were also piled up and scattered across the large secluded farm.
Inspector Miranda Albinson, who helped investigate, said the conditions at the farm were "appalling".
"What we were confronted with will stick in the minds of all those who helped rescue those animals," Inspector Albinson said.
'Sick and starving'
During visits to the farm, officers saw thin horses walking through thick mud, surrounded by scrap metal, barbed wire, broken fencing and a bonfire containing animal bones.
A decomposing horse was found wrapped in plastic, with another dead horse discovered attached to the rear of a vehicle with rope tied around their neck.
Inspectors found a muddy barn filled with sick and starving sheep, cows and pigs was found to also contain piles of dead animals, with lambs and calves standing next to what are thought to be their dead mothers.
Pigs eating dead animals
Vets and police officers visited the farm on numerous visits between March 2015 and August 2015.
Inspectors returned in April 2016 with a veterinary surgeon and animal health enforcement officer from South Gloucestershire Council.
Numerous pigs were found in the top area of a field, consuming a deceased sheep, with other live pigs seen eating a deceased pig in a pig pen.
There were also piles of carcasses throughout the barn amongst the live sheep and dogs kept in small, faeces-filled cages without food or water.
Trial
On Tuesday 5 June, Susan Smith of Olveston and Mark Downs of Pilning, were found guilty of animal welfare offences and charges relating to Trading Standards offences, following a trial.
Georgina Blizzard-Smith formerly of Olveston, was found guilty of two offences relating to two dogs found on the farm in April 2016, following a trial.
Ms Smith was sentenced at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 5 June. She was deprived of ownership of the two dogs and ordered to pay £500 in court costs and £306 in compensation.
Ms Smith and Mr Downs will return to Bristol Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on June 21.
In mitigation, the court heard that Ms Smith claimed to have been bed-bound with pneumonia for a number of weeks in February 2015 and had left the farm in the care of Mr Downs who was said to be struggling in difficult conditions.
