RSPCA

Horse traders found guilty of animal neglect on a massive scale.

Members of the Gray family have today, (Friday, 8 May 2009) been found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to equines and failing to meet their welfare needs, after a 12-week trial, brought by the RSPCA.

In January 2008, RSPCA Inspectors rescued 111 horses, ponies and donkeys, after being found in appalling conditions on a Buckinghamshire farm.

RSPCA inspector Kirsty Hampton said:  “This case was distressing beyond measure. What we were confronted with on arrival at the farm was grotesque. To see so many animals in such awful condition was overwhelming and those that had survived were shown little care or consideration. Many horses and ponies had just been left to starve, and the smell of rotting flesh was overpowering.”
 
“As a charity, we rely solely on the generosity of our supporters to continue our work,” said inspector Hampton. “The cost to the RSPCA of caring for the equines involved in this case over the past 14 months has now reached over £850,000.

“The operation to remove the animals to safety over a year ago was a difficult but successful joint effort between many animal welfare agencies and the police,” said inspector Hampton. “The RSPCA would like to thank them all - and in particular the Horse Trust, Redwings, and World Horse Welfare - for helping us provide ongoing care for the huge number of deprived horses, ponies and donkeys removed from the farm.”

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