Pensioner jailed for eight weeks for horse cruelty

A pensioner from South Wales has been jailed for eight weeks and given a two-year ban on keeping horses after being found guilty of animal cruelty.

Forty-five horses were seized from Margaret O’Leary’s Pen-y-Cae property on 13 January 2008 — one was dead and others were emaciated and infested with parasites.

Last month (news 26, June) Mrs O’Leary (72) admitted to eight counts of causing unnecessary suffering to horses, two of failing to ensure horses needs and one of obstructing an investigation. She was jailed for eight weeks on 10 July.

Some of the horses were due to be signed over to World Horse Welfare on last Friday, 18 July but Mrs O’Leary’s son has lodged an appeal. A conclusion is not expected to be reached for about 12 weeks.

World Horse Welfare field officer Norman Brown said: “In welfare cases such as this we always look for a life ban on keeping horses and in this particular case it would have been our preferred outcome.”

www.worldhorsewelfare.org

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