Man ordered to pay £4,000 after two donkeys found emaciated

A man from Norfolk has been ordered to pay costs of more than £4,000 after two of his donkeys were found emaciated.

David Lucas of Bushy Common, Gressenhall, appeared before King’s Lynn Magistrates Court on Thursday 6 October and pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the animals.

He also pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to produce a equine passport when required.

He was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £1,600 in costs to Norfolk County Council trading standards department and £2,800 to World Horse Welfare.

World Horse Welfare received a call from a concerned member of the public on the 7 February about two donkeys in a field off Litcham Road in Gressenhall.

Field officers found three-year-old Hermione and two-year-old Dumbledore very underweight, with poor feet and no shelter.

The donkeys were removed on 9 February and taken into care by World Horse Welfare.

World Horse Welfare’s Jacko Jackson said: “These donkeys were in a terrible condition and if it had not been for a member of the public noticing how poor they looked and contacted us, their outcome could have been much worse. It shows that the Animal Welfare Act works and gives a signal that all animals have a right to proper and correct care.”

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