FARMER has been jailed after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to cattle left dying in a shed with little food and water.
Melton magistrates were told Eaton farmer Nigel Hubbard had kept 35 cattle shut in a hot shed for days last June depriving them of sufficient food and water. A number had to be put down.
Gulshanah Chouduri, prosecuting, said one cow developed sores while another was positioned so badly close to a wall that it couldn’t stand and refused food.
One of the animals suffered nine days of deterioration, one was left for days in direct sunlight while another cow began losing its hair - a symptom of starvation. A number of cows were too weak to stand.
She added: "There was no access to water and the defendant was verbally warned. There were several visits by officers and several warning letters."
The cattle were being kept in a shed at Ivy Stud Farm in Main Street - holdings owned by Hubbard’s brother.
Hubbard, 52, admitted eight charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals between June 3 and 12 last year.
The court heard Hubbard had been repeatedly told by Trading Standards officers to ’turn out’ the animals but when they later returned to the farm they were back in the shed.
The animals had been let out on June 6 but not onto grass and a warning notice was issued.
Ben Ellis, defending, said Hubbard had moved the animals from his previous farm to his brother’s holdings in Eaton for the purposes of TB testing and they were to be moved on again from there.
He claimed Hubbard had been confused about TB testing restrictions in respect of the animals being moved and that no concerns were raised about cattle while he was at his previous farm.
He added: "Mr Hubbard said there was a trough of water but the cows couldn’t get to it. He took a bucket of water to them but that wasn’t enough. He did provide them with some hay and straw but accepts that was insufficient ."
Mr Ellis also said Hubbard had been through a ’torrid time’ personally and had developed a chronic depressive illness which had affected his judgement and ability to cope.
He added: "Mr Hubbard is very ashamed and regrets what happened. He accepts he wasn’t able to cope with looking after animals. He does have four dogs which are well looked after but he no longer owns animals. The risk of him re-offending is very low."
Hubbard was sentenced to 10 weeks in prison and banned from owning or keeping non domestic animals for five years.
Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 the maximum penalty for causing unnecessary suffering to animals is 51 weeks’ imprisonment and a £20,000 fine.
