Charities look to recoup Spindle Farm costs
The charities that rehabilitated the horses, ponies and donkeys taken from Spindle Farm, Amersham, have mounted separate appeals to recoup some of their £1.2million costs.
The RSPCA rescued 111 equines from James Gray’s farm between 5-9 January 2008 (news, 17 January 2008).
Since then approximately £1,232,000 has been spent on them by four charities.
Helen Briggs of the RSPCA said: “We are very grateful for the charities agreeing to pay for those animals they took in. It’s not been cheap for any of us.
“Eleven went to World Horse Welfare, 21 to Redwings, 14 to the Horse Trust and we have looked after the others.”
Costs have included feed, veterinary treatment, staff wages and livery bills.
The future of the horses will be decided after James Gray and his family are sentenced on 12 June.
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• To donate, go to the charities’ websites — www.rspca.org.uk , www.horsetrust.org.uk , www.worldhorsewelfare.org/donate and www.redwings.org.uk
This article was first published in Horse & Hound (4 June, ’09)
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.