CONVICTED (2022) | Ian Anthony Bowman, born October 1972, of The Bungalow, Arties Mill Grounds, Wressle Road, Brigg DN20 9LF – kept donkeys and ponies knee-deep in mud and riddled with lice.
Bowman pleaded guilty to animal welfare offences relating to three donkeys and two Shetland ponies that he was responsible for.
Officers from three animal welfare charities found issues including overgrown hooves and donkeys repeatedly biting and scratching themselves due to lice.
The RSPCA investigated the matter in January and February 2021 alongside The Donkey Sanctuary and Bransby Horses, based in Lincoln.
Mick Flower, the deputy head of prosecutions at the RSPCA, said: “The welfare officers across the three charities discovered the three donkeys and two ponies were being kept in poor condition and had been provided with inadequate shelter.
“Some had live lice in their coats and significantly overgrown hooves with no evidence that a farrier had attended for many months.
“The animals had also not received adequate worm control or sufficient dental care.”
The charges being faced by Bowman included causing unnecessary suffering to one donkey and not ensuring that the needs of all five animals were being met.
A vet said in their witness statement: “Dental care, hoof care and endoparasite control are all part of the preventative healthcare that a responsible owner would provide to their equines.
“These are not optional extras of horse ownership and are required in order to keep the animals healthy, pain-free and to provide good welfare standards.
“This horse owner has therefore neglected most of the basic preventative health care requirements of these equines and that has ultimately caused suffering in two out of five of them.”
All of the animals were taken in by Bransby Horses and after receiving veterinary care they were slowly introduced to relevant herds.
Rachel Jenkinson, the welfare manager at Bransby Horses, added: “After they were found to be living in unsuitable conditions – knee-deep in mud and riddled with lice – and without their basic needs being met, we were keen to remove these equines as soon as possible.
“The complex needs of donkeys and ponies are completely different and were not being met in this mixed group environment.
“They are now receiving the individual care they require and are flourishing after months of hard work by our teams.”
Sentencing: ordered to pay a total of £2,330 in fines, costs and charges. Ten-year ban on owning equine animals but can appeal after five years.