Pony kept in cellar by couple banned from keeping animals

A couple banned from keeping animals for life may face jail after a pony was discovered living in their “stagnant and stinking” cellar.

Eric and Doreen Buckley were both banned from keeping all animals for life in 1995 after serious animal welfare breaches.

But despite this, the pony was discovered living in the cellar of a converted pub in Gilfach Goch, Pontypridd last June, alongside nine geese, two goats, 11 dogs and a cat. The cellar was unlit and almost an inch deep in animal waste.

RSPCA inspector Nicola Johnston said: “It was beyond anything I have ever seen, or ever hope to see again.

“You stood there in complete blackess squishing and squashing underfoot as you walked. To think that somebody thought it was a fit place to keep animals was incredible.”

The case has been adjourned until 17 June.

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