Guilty plea in “worst cruelty case”
Man pleads guilty to causing “unnecessary suffering” to a Shire mare in what the RSPCA describes as “one of the worst cases it has ever seen”
The owner of an 18hh Shire mare Gracie May, is awaiting sentencing by Bath Magistrates Court this month (23 January) after pleading guilty in a case brought by the RSPCA.
RSPCA inspector, Ian Burns, who discovered the case described it as “one of the most disturbing I have seen.
“We were called out to catch a loose horse on 25 May last year in Paulton, Somerset. We looked for a field to put it in and as I went in I saw this large silhouette of a horse about 90 yards away”, he said.
“I could tell therewas something drastically wrong. It was a pitiful sight. The horse was emaciated, almost totally bald and crawling with lice – very dejected.
“There was practically no grazing in the field, just odd piles of straw. It was a ramshackle placewith old cars.
“I called the vet who was also very disturbed at sight of the horse. We made the decision to transport her to a rescue centre. The police were called in and the horse was handed over to us.”
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The paddock also contained the carcasses of four other horses including one foal.
The owner, Dennis Wall, of Peasedown St John, Somerset, who is known to have kept horses for years also pleaded guilty to failing to dispose of carcases properly.
Gracie May is now said to have made a full recovery and is looking for a suitable home.
Ian Burns said: “I’ve never seen a horse recover so quickly. Gracie May is a beautiful. We didn’t know what colour she was when we found her, but she turned out to be a lovely light bay.”
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