A Devon farmer who caused unnecessary suffering to an animal has been given a 16-week suspended prison sentence, fined £6,970 and banned from keeping animals for 10 years.
Michael Rice, 68, of High View, Crediton was sentenced at Exeter Magistrates Court on Thursday 17 January.
Rice also failed to ensure that animals had access to a dry lying area and for failing to remove or fence off an area likely to cause injury to an animal under the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations 2007.
The animals had access to an area which contained sharp edges and protrusions which could have harmed them.
The case was brought by Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service following an investigation into concerns for the welfare of his cattle.
Trading standards officers and a vet from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) visited the farm and discovered a bovine which appeared to have been unable to stand for several weeks with no access to water or supplementary feed.
Rice had previously been advised by a vet that if the animal’s health didn’t improve it should be culled. However several weeks later, when trading standards visited his farm, he had made no attempt to do so.
'Avoidable suffering'
The vet believed that the animal was subjected to ‘avoidable and unnecessary suffering’ under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 both by failure to cull without delay and failure to isolate the sick animal and house it in suitable accommodation with dry comfortable bedding.
Officers described the living conditions for the animals throughout the farm as 'generally poor', as several animals did not have a dry lying area and had access to sharp objects which posed a risk to their health such as farm machinery and rusty nails.
Rice was given a 16-week sentence suspended for 12 months and was disqualified from keeping cattle for 10 years suspended for eight months to allow him to arrange for the removal of his livestock.
District Judge Matson described the conditions on the farm as ‘appalling’ and the condition the bovine was left in as ‘extremely upsetting and distressing’.
Rice was given a £1,000 fine for the lack of dry lying area for his cattle and £750 fine for the sharp objects the cattle were able to access. He was also ordered to pay £5,106 in legal costs and a £115 victim surcharge.
