Dawn Rose banned from keeping horses after cruelty case

A horse owner in North Wales has received a three-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay £250 costs after admitting six charges of cruelty to 72 horses.

Dawn Elizabeth Rose, 49, cried in Mold Magistrates Court on 3 September as Glen Murphy, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA said the experienced inspection team had been “stunned” by the appalling condition of the animals.

RSPCA inspector Chris Dunbar first visited Ms Rose in March 2008 when she bought her 42-acre farm Pen y Gelli at Pontfadog, near Chirk to start a stud.

Speaking after the sentencing, he told H&H: “We had concerns from the start as she wasn’t feeding the horses. We kept going back — she listened but did nothing.”

Ms Rose, now of Farndon in Cheshire, pleaded guilty to six charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals this July. Three of the 72 animals were in such distress they were euthanised.

Ms Rose was given a three-month sentence suspended for 12 months and banned from keeping or being involved with horses for 10 years. She was ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid community work.

Because she is bankrupt the judge only ordered her to pay costs of £250. RSPCA prosecution costs were estimated at £128,554.

Sitting at Mold magistrates court, district judge Andrew Shaw told Ms Rose: “You neglected these horses in an obvious and shameful way.”

Mr Dunbar added: “We were happy with the ban. Our job is to stop cruelty and in this case that’s what we feel we’ve done.”

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