A woman who left 22 horses to suffer alongside the rotting bodies of others has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Kerry Anne Pickersgill and her daughter Ellie Newby, of Barnard Castle, County Durham, were sentenced at Durham Crown Court on Friday (13 February). Pickersgill, 48, had pleaded guilty to 15 offences relating to 22 horses and 21 dogs, and one count in relation to breaching a previous ban on keeping animals. Newby, 25, admitted two offences in relation to two dogs.
An RSPCA spokesperson said its officers and those from World Horse Welfare “encountered distressing scenes at the remote property; one officer describing the smell of rotting flesh”.
“Twenty two horses, some collapsed and the majority underweight, were found living alongside dead equines in filthy barns and stables,” the spokesperson said, adding that 21 dogs, “many matted with mouldy faeces”, were discovered in sheds and trailers.
The court heard a local authority animal welfare officer visited the farm last February in response to a call about sheep and asked the RSPCA for help, having found dead horses and others in “very poor health”. Welfare concerns were also raised about a large number of dogs in sheds, stables and trailers.
“At the top of the drive was a large area where items were being dumped,” the spokesperson said. “There was evidence of a fire having been lit, and among a mound of straw, wood and bedding material were the carcasses of at least two horses, one of which was partially charred.”
In written evidence, RSPCA inspector James Smith said that as he approached the mound, he could see equine bones.
“As we walked round the pile I came across bones from various parts of an equine’s body and a head,” he said. “These had been there for some considerable time as flesh had decomposed.
“I was then taken to a stable which had no lighting but I was still able to see a chestnut foal and its dead mother lying in the corner. This stable was filthy and deep in faeces. There was no fresh bedding for this live youngster but someone had dropped some hay on to the faeces and given water.”
Mr Smith said in a large shed next door, he found seven horses, some rugged, who appeared to be in poor condition.
“This shed was split in two and in the other section there were two young equines lying dead on the floor, a skewbald and a bay which still had a rug on it,” he said.
“The conditions were very poor, filthy and soaking wet with no clean bedding whatsoever. It was clear that the animals at this establishment could not stay like this.”
The court also heard the dogs were living with “mouldy faeces”, in damp buildings and trailers.
Two vets and a dog behaviourist were asked to help, and confirmed the animals were suffering or likely to suffer, so they were seized.
The court was told 16 live horses were transported for immediate veterinary treatment. Six were owned by other people and on loan to the defendants.
“Eight of the horses were in such poor condition the vet who examined them recommended they be put to sleep to prevent further suffering,” the spokesperson said.
“Many had severely overgrown hooves, which in one case hadn’t been trimmed for three years, and teeth which hadn’t been seen for two years. Lice and worm infestations were rife and several horses’ coats were stained in faeces.”
In written evidence, a vet said none of the horses had a suitable living environment or enough food and most were underweight.
“One horse seen with a foal at foot would have taken a ‘minimum of 12 weeks’ to deteriorate to that condition, said the vet, while others were so hungry they were seen eating their own faeces,” the spokesperson said.
The vet added that had the horses been left in those conditions without treatment “they were all on the same conveyor belt of deterioration in health”.
“When animals died, it is clear they were left in the same stables they were contained in, despite other horses being in there,” the vet said.
Survivors
The surviving horses are being cared for by World Horse Welfare and a Shetland has since been rehomed.
Kerry Anne Pickersgill is said to have expressed regret about what happened and “the impact it had had on the animals and her family” and “apportioned the blame to herself for ‘putting herself in this predicament’”.
Newby, who had no previous convictions, was said to be under the influence of her mother. The court was told she had “significant problems” and had led a solitary existence.
RSPCA inspector Heidi Cleaver said all those at the scene were shocked.
“The images of starving horses standing alongside dead ones, and scores of nervous dogs living in near darkness, will stay with us all for a long time,” she said.
“Our thanks also go to our colleagues at World Horse Welfare for the incredible work they have done to get the surviving horses back to good health, and to the vets, the dog behaviourist and the police officers who worked with us on site until late in the evening.”
One of the youngsters taken in by World Horse Welfare
World Horse Welfare field officer Seema Ritson added: “Finding numerous dead horses left where they’d fallen – the whole site reeking of rotting flesh – and starving equines shut in with no food, water, or light, was truly dreadful.
“Until I turned the torch on my phone on, I couldn’t even tell that there was a foal in one stable, standing on her own in the dark beside a dead mare. There are some cases that haunt me and this is one of them – the suffering here was horrendous.”
Kerry Anne Pickersgill, who had been banned from keeping all animals for life in 2015, was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years and ordered to complete 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days, 100 hours’ unpaid work and a six-month mental health treatment order.
Newby was given a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from keeping dogs for five years.
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