CONVICTED (2024) | Karen Laurie-Parry, aka Karen Parry, born 9 October 1958, of Barlae Hill Street, Aberdare CF44 6YG – starved and neglected two horses for several months.
Parry, formerly a councillor with Powys County Council until she was disqualified, left two of her 15 horses without food or water for more than nine months at a stable in Ebbw Vale, South Wales.
When interviewed by police, Parry admitted that she knew it was bad and had planned to sort it out but had been ‘too tired.’
One of the horses, Ryan, was found wearing a head collar and attempting to eat his own faeces by ‘a concerned member of the public’ who contacted various horse charities.
The other horse, called McCoy, was found wearing a rug in summer temperatures with overgrown hooves and no evidence of clean water.
The 10 and 14-year-old horses were in ‘wet stables, covered in faeces’ and were ‘nervous’ when found by police.
The charity Welsh Pony Rescue & Rehoming Charitable Trust visited the animals with a vet, who scored their body condition a 2/9 and said their heart rates were raised and that they appeared to be in significant pain.
The court heard that they were at serious risk of developing fungal infections and abscesses.
The costs of medical care for both animals came to over £22,440.
At the time of the neglect, Parry owned another 13 horses, and she currently looks after four dogs.
The court heard that she had owned horses “on and off for most of her life” and was a well-known person to the horsing world having “appeared in events for many years.”
Her defence barrister thought it was punishment enough that “she has lost her good name.”
“The horses survived with no particular diseases. This lady does have the ability, if she wishes, to have a horse in the future,” he said.
Judge Timothy Petts decided that Parry neglected the animals due to her poor mental health, financial difficulties and a divorce. He believed she is unlikely to reoffend.
“It was not deliberate cruelty,” said Judge Petts.
Sentencing | nine weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months; £2,500 fine. Deprivation order on Ryan and McCoy. No ban.
Following Parry’s conviction, the founder of Welsh Pony Rescue & Rehoming described the horrific ordeal suffered by stallions McCoy and Ryan backed up with dozens of harrowing photos and videos.
They wrote:
In July 2023 we were informed of a welfare case of two horses living in filthy conditions no food no water and a heatwave.
The police and vets were called to enter the premises and the full horror unfolded.
The pictures are bad enough but to work with these stallions was a roller-coaster of emotions.
To see the muscle waste and them completely shut down and no brightness in they eyes was heartbreaking.
There was evidence of dogs been there also ,Cages and old food bowls, toys and dark dismal caged areas.
Their recovery has been a long road and now they are a picture once again .
I was accused by trolls of breaking into this property and stealing these horses . Too easy to blame me and the charity when they clutched at straws .
I was spat at and pushed with a shoulder by Karen Laurie Parry and told I will do more than this to you , when she arrived at the farm with her two side kicks to try and take the horses back some weeks later.
We held the horses for Gwent Police who took this case to court .
We were not allowed to respond to the online abuse and outright lies .
This case was more important , so don’t always believe what you hear off the trolls about me and the charity.
A nine week suspended sentence was given to Mrs Parry and bound over for 12mths .
Made to pay £2500 towards our costs which don’t cover the vet bills alone .
And also made to surrender the stallions over to the charity .
In my opinion she got off too lightly but people like her won’t change and our paths will cross again .