CONVICTED (2018) | Stephen D Bowes, born 1971, of Cranleigh Court Road, Yate, Bristol BS37 5DJ – possessed images showing human intercourse with reptiles, horses, goats, donkeys and dogs
Between 8/12/16 and 3/11/17 made category A, B and C images of children and possessed a pornographic image which portrayed, in an explicit and realistic way, persons performing an act of intercourse with live animals or reptiles namely snakes, horses, goats, donkeys and dogs.
Sentencing: Bowes was due to be sentenced on 29/08/18 but the outcome was not reported.
CONVICTED (2018) | Mark Barber, born 8 June 1977, of The Waterings Farm, Blore, Ashbourne DE6 2BT – for leaving two donkeys to suffer in agony with overgrown hooves
Farmer Mark Barber pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the two jennys, at Derby Magistrates’ Court on 15 February 2018. He admitted failing to seek vital treatment for the pair.
The RSPCA and the Donkey Sanctuary found the animals, Jessica and Jasmine, with hooves so overgrown they were unable to walk normally.
“These two beautiful donkeys were left to suffer because Mr Barber failed to arrange veterinary or farrier treatment,” said RSPCA inspector Charlotte Melvin,
“After a concerned member of the public called us about the state of two donkeys they’d seen on the Barbers’ farm, I called Hannah Bryer, head of welfare at the Donkey Sanctuary, to help and when we arrived we were shocked at what we saw.
“Both donkeys, Jessica and Jasmine, were out in a field and their hooves were so long we could barely coax them to take a few steps – they were in agony.
“Mr Barber had left Jessica and Jasmine without any farriery or veterinary care for a really long time, even though it was clear that they were suffering.
“Thankfully, after we called a vet who certified their suffering immediately, Mr Barber signed the donkeys into our care and after carefully loading them into the horsebox, they were taken straight to the Donkey Sanctuary to receive the expert care they so desperately needed.”
The pair were taken to the Donkey Sanctuary in Buxton, where Jessica was found to have severe sarcoids on her legs and belly.
Barber was not charged with any offence relating to the sarcoids, but her condition was so serious, a veterinary specialist advised that she would not recover and she was put to sleep.
Jasmine has recovered and is still with the sanctuary in Devon.
Ms Bryer, head of welfare at the Donkey Sanctuary, said: “Cases like this are incredibly sad as they can be so easily avoided.
“We are grateful for the combined efforts of the RSPCA, Derbyshire Police and all involved in investigating this case. The disqualification order serves to protect the welfare of donkeys in the future, but of course the most important outcome is that Jasmine is now fit and well, with a safe and secure future ahead of her.”
Sentencing | Barber was fined £383 and ordered to pay £500 costs and a £38 victim surcharge. He was also disqualified from keeping donkeys for life.
CONVICTED (2017) | James Steele, born c. 1969, of 15 Gobrana Road, Glenavy, Crumlin BT29 4LQ – for multiple cruelty offences to donkeys, sheep and cattle
Serial animal abuser James Steele has caused suffering to countless animals
Steele entered guilty pleas to a total of 16 charges including ten counts of causing unnecessary suffering to cows, sheep, calves and a bull on dates between 17 September 2015 and 10 January 2016.
The charges arose as a result of a series of inspections by the Dept of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) at land Steele was renting in Crumlin, Dundrod and Glenavy.
Over the course of the numerous visits, DAERA officials found:
Lame animals being kept in unsuitable slatted sheds
A cow with overgrown cleats
A calf which had to be euthanised due to an infected hoof and leg
A “distressed” sheep which was found to be suffering from “cerebrocortical necrosis,” a disease of the central nervous system, later euthanised by the vet
A young Charlois bull was weak and dehydrated. He was also suffering from pneumonia. G given the poor prognosis and “poor body condition,” he was also euthanised
At a yard on the Lisnataylor Road in Dundrod, inspectors found a cubicle house with 18 feeding spaces that was being used to feed 97 beasts, 49 cows, a bull and 47 calves. This meant it was inadequate for the number of animals to allow them to have sufficient access to food.
In addition passageways were knee deep in slurry and there was no bedding for the calves. There was also a dead calf in an area where other calves had access to.
Some of the animals found had not had feed or water for days
As a result of the inspections, DAERA officials were granted a seizure/deprivation order and seized the 153 cattle but when they were examined it was decided that 13 animals were not fit to travel and were euthanised.
In that case, also dealt with by way of suspended jail sentences, Steele was found guilty of two charges under the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011 in that he had caused suffering to a number of donkeys which he kept in fields in the Dundrod area in June 2015.
The Animal Welfare Service responded finding 11 donkeys, nine of which had severely overgrown hooves making it very painful and difficult for them to walk.
After a full examination the Council’s vet stated that the condition of nine of the 11 donkeys was such that they should, in their own interest, be humanely destroyed.
Sentencing: nine-month prison sentence suspended for four years. Banned from keeping farm animals for 25 years.
CONVICTED (2017) | Nicole (Nicki) Williams (aka Victoria Nicole Williams and with numerous aliases including Nicola Archer Lloyd, Nicki Matthews, Esther Matthews, Julie Williams, Nicole Fraser and Nicole Field) born 15 April 1974, at the time of conviction living at Grace Road, Leicester, but most recently (January 2018) of Slade Road, Erdington, Birmingham B23 7PN – abandoned four dogs, five kittens, nine horses and two donkeys
Alleged serial con artist Williams, who also has links to the areas of Chesterfield and Matlock in Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to four offences of failing to meet the needs of her animals.
The animals were left at a livery yard but Williams failed to return to feed or clean them. Williams moved her animals into the livery yard on Wharf Road, Stanton Hill, Sutton-in-Ashfield, on 24 October 2016 – but within a week it was clear she was not returning to clean and feed them.
RSPCA Inspectors Sarah Gardner and Kristy Ludlam attended the yard to find the animals living in poor conditions.
Kristy said: “There were five kittens being kept in a horse box with no food or water. There were no litter trays, so the horse box was filled with urine and faeces, which was also in their empty food and water bowls.
“There were four dogs being kept in an enclosure which was covered in faeces and urine and all of the dogs were in a poor condition with matted fur and urine stains on their feet.
“The two donkeys were being kept in a paddock which had no hard-standing ground for them or shelter – two things which donkeys need.
“They were also being kept in the same paddock as the horses, which we would never recommend as donkeys have different needs to horses.
“They (the animals) were living in horrific conditions.”
All animals have now recovered and have either been welcomed into new homes or been reserved by new owners.
Sentencing | 120 hours of unpaid work; £750 in costs and victim surcharge of £75. Five-year ban on owning animals (expired June 2022).
CONVICTED (2017) | horse dealer Jacquelyn Johnson, Lower Stadmoreslow Farm, Stadmoreslow Lane, Harriseahead, Stoke-on-Trent ST7 4SH – allowed horses and donkeys to be kept in squalid conditions
Several horses had to be put down due to horse dealer Jackie Johnson’s neglect
Jackie Johnson, who is the mother of another convicted horse abuser Claire Machin, was charged under Section 9 and Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for animal cruelty and failing to provide a duty of care to the animals under her control.
The case was investigated by Staffordshire County Council’s Animal Health team following the execution of a warrant at the dealer’s yard, along with officers from Staffordshire Police, World Horse Welfare, the Donkey Sanctuary and the RSPCA.
Visits to the farm by officers revealed horses kept in poor condition, in dirty stables with no dry lying area. Horses outside the stables had no shelter and were wet and dirty.
One pony was found collapsed in a field, covered with rugs and tarpaulin. After being examined by a vet, it was put to sleep. A second pony was found on the site with injuries and also had to be euthanized.
Further visits were made to Stadmoreslow Farm, where another four horses were taken away and several put to sleep due to their condition.
Sentencing: 12 week sentence for each offence, suspended for 12 months; ordered to pay nearly £3,500 plus an £80 victim surcharge. Disqualified from having anything further to do with horses, donkeys and ponies indefinitely.
CONVICTED (2017) | Angela Wood and husband Malcolm Wood of Popeley Farm Cottage, Muffit Lane, Gomersal, near Cleckheaton BD19 4QS – pleaded guilty to terrible neglect of donkeys and miniature Shetland ponies.
Badly neglected donkeys and ponies found at the home of Malcolm and Angela Wood in Gomersal. The hooves were so long some couldn’t even walk. Bottom right image shows one of donkeys fully recovered from hi ordeal.
Malcolm and Angela Wood both pleaded guilty to a number of offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 when they appeared at Kirklees Magistrates Court in Huddersfield.
Malcolm Wood pleaded guilty to two section 9 offences relating to the poor body condition and lack of appropriate stabling for three Shetland ponies, to have taken place in June 2016, but five charges against him relating to the welfare of the five donkeys were dropped.
Angela Wood pleaded guilty to one section 4 offence relating to the extremely poor state of the donkeys’ hooves and three section 9 offences relating to the inadequate living environment, body condition and lack of worm control of the ponies and donkeys, to have taken place between January 2016 and June 2016.
After initial advice to help improve the conditions from World Horse Welfare, the RSPCA and The Donkey Sanctuary were called to the property in June 2016 over concerns for the welfare of four miniature Shetlands and it became apparent that there were also donkeys at the site.
Some had been neglected to the point that they couldn’t even walk. After a veterinary surgeon certified the five donkeys and three Shetlands to be suffering, a team from World Horse Welfare and the Donkey Sanctuary joined the RSPCA in removing the animals.
RSPCA inspector Samantha Weston said: “The state of the poor ponies was awful, but to then make the discovery of the donkeys was shocking – their hooves were some of the longest I’ve ever seen.
“One was in very poor body condition and several were riddled with worms. Another donkey had to be dug out of his stable because the combination of filthy bedding and faeces had built up so much he couldn’t even be led out of the door.
“I am delighted to hear that the ponies and donkeys that were removed are now doing well in the expert care of the Donkey Sanctuary and World Horse Welfare.”
Sentencing: six-month community order each. Total costs and charges of £185 each. Both were given an indefinite ban on owning all equines
CONVICTED (2014) | Robert James Mcaleenan, born c. 1959, and son Conor Mcaleenan, born 21 February 1986, of 210 Lisnevenagh Road, Antrim BT41 2JT – jailed for a catalogue of animal cruelty offences against dozens of horses, ponies and donkeys
Robert and Conor Mcaleenan were jailed for allowing horses and ponies to suffer horrifically
Travellers Robert and Conor Mcaleenan were jailed after police discovered a ‘scene of horror’ at their farm, with decomposing dead horses among those still alive.
The case was triggered by a tip-off from a member of the public. The scene that confronted vets and PSNI officers on November 22, 2011, was one of horror.
Conor Mcaleenan
Cruel horse traders Robert and Conor Mcaleenan from Antrim
They were faced with an overpowering stench of dead animals which had been dumped in a heap on the farm, with numerous other standing around in filth, starving and left to fend for themselves.
Conor Mcaleenan
One vet said: “The scale of what I saw was unbelievably large. The father and son had fundamentally failed to protect the animals, failed to address the most basic health and husbandry requirements.
“Some of the animals were in such a pitiful state of suffering that they had to be euthanised on humane grounds.”
Robert Mcaleenan
Judge Desmond Marrinan told the Mcaleenans: “This is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty that I have encountered and you should be thoroughly ashamed of your callous behaviour.”
The judge said he was unimpressed by the men’s defence and found no substance in claims the pair had not set out to deliberately cause suffering or distress to the animals.
He told the court the case photographs were “horrific… almost unbelievable”, and said: “The evidence bore testimony to the fact they treated these poor animals in a pitiless manner without the slightest regard for their welfare. In my view they are unfit to be carers for any animal.”
Sentencing: Conor Mcaleenan, who had owned the animals, was jailed for 14 months.
Robert James Mcaleenan, who owns the farm between Antrim and Ballymena, was given nine months.
The pair were banned from keeping animals for 25 years.
In January 2018 the Mcaleenans reappeared in court accused of breaching their ban on keeping animals. The outcome of their latest court case is unknown, however.
CONVICTED (2011) | Pamela Palmer (born c. 1941) and son Joseph Palmer (born c. 1981) formerly of Sheriff Hutton Hall, York YO60 – left animals to starve to death and others to suffer in agony with untreated injuries
RSPCA officers found five sheep that had died of starvation, one of which had its head trapped in a wooden frame, a lamb dead down a well, a Hereford bull that had suffered with arthritis for months, and a Hereford cow with a long-term major abscess when they were called to Sheriff Hutton Hall in April 2010
The then owners of the property, Pamela Palmer and her son Joseph, had told neighbours they came from a wealthy Australian family and appeared to be eccentric animal lovers who shared the house with a menagerie, including a pet lamb in the bedroom and a badger in the basement.
But in reality, the Palmers had neither the financial means nor the will to care for the animals.
RSPCA inspectors who visited the property found a catalogue of appalling animal neglect.
Some animals had been locked in a derelict building at the Grade I listed hall and left to starve.
It appeared someone had attempted to burn a number of cattle carcasses or to bury them in a swimming pool which had been turned into a slurry dump.
Inspectors also found five cats in a filthy room at the mansion, along with horses, dogs, pigs and donkeys that appeared to be running wild.
The condition of animals on the estate was revealed when Mrs Palmer’s bank repossessed the house and property in April 2010.
In July 2011 Mrs Palmer, said at the time to be of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to three animal cruelty charges at Selby Magistrates Court and her son, then of Rein Road, Wakefield, admitted seven similar offences.
Sentencing: Both defendants were given 18-week suspended jail sentences. Mrs Palmer was ordered to pay £500 costs. Her son was sentenced to 100 hours’ unpaid work and must pay £1,000 costs. Banned from keeping livestock for life (later appealed unsuccessfully).
#MostEvil | Amersham horse trader James John Gray (05/09/1963), wife Julie Cordelia Gray (24/05/1967) and daughters Jodie June Gray (12/09/1982) and Cordelia Gray (29/05/1988) and James Gray junior (23/01/1993) – left more than 100 horses, ponies and donkeys to starve among the rotting carcasses of other animals
Clockwise from top left: James Gray Sr, Julie Gray, Cordelia Gray, Jodie Gray, court protestors, James Gray Jr
In a case veterinary expert witness described as the worst case of animal cruelty they had ever seen, 31 equines were found dead at Spindle Farm, Chalk Lane, Hyde Heath, Amersham. Some 111 other horses, ponies and donkeys were rescued.
The massive rescue was co-ordinated by Thames Valley Police, Trading Standards and the RSPCA with help from the Horse Trust, the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH), Redwings Horse Sanctuary and the Blue Cross
James Gray Sr is banned for life from keeping equine animals
Hooves and body parts of horses that had been left to die were scattered around and a grotesque mound made up of bones and skulls was discovered.
The horror scene was uncovered when RSPCA inspectors were called to the farm, where a horse-trading business run by the Gray family was based.
James Gray Jr
There were 140 animals at the farm and many were left with little food or dry bedding, were crammed into pens and ankle-deep in their own faeces.
Jodie Gray, aka Jodie Keet, with son Tommy Gray
In total 115 animals, some severely emaciated, had to be rescued and removed from the farm during a huge operation in January 2009.
Robert Seabrook QC told the court how two RSPCA inspectors visiting the farm in January 2008 were confronted with a “grotesque and distressing state of affairs”.
He said a number of horses were discovered in “disgusting pens”, some were tethered individually and others were loose in the paddocks.
The most extraordinary aspect he said was that many horses were next to carcasses in varying states of decomposition and the smell of rotting flesh was “over-powering”.
He added: “A number of animals that were found had plainly been dead for a number of days and as it turns out, some for many months.”
Julie Gray
The court heard in one pen three severed hooves were found alongside the bodies of two other horses.
James Gray Sr was convicted of nine charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals and two charges of failing to protect animals from pain, injury, suffering and disease.
His son James Gray Jr was convicted of identical charges although two were later overturned on appeal.
Gray’s wife, Julie, and daughters Cordelia and Jodie were found guilty of the two charges of failing to protect the animals.
No member of the family showed any sign of emotion as the judge passed sentence.
RSPCA inspector Kirsty Hampton described the conditions the horses were kept in as “grotesque”.
Speaking after the sentencing, Hampton said: “The RSPCA is pleased the district judge has recognised the extent of the cruelty, neglect and the suffering endured by the animals in this case.
“We see the disqualifications from keeping horses as an effective measure to prevent animals suffering in future.”
Sentencing: James Gray Sr was sentenced to six months in prison and banned from keeping horses, ponies and donkeys for life. He was also ordered to pay £400,000. Gray was given a further two months after absconding from court. Two of Gray’s convictions were overturned in 2010, but Gray was ordered to pay £600,000 towards the RSPCA’s legal costs and faced financial ruin. A later appeal against what Gray claimed were disproportionate legal costs was rejected.
James Gray Junior was given an 18-month supervision order. He was banned from keeping equines for 10 years with right of appeal after five (ban expired June 2019).
Julie, Jodie and Cordelia Gray were each given 150 hours of community service. They were also banned from keeping equines for 10 years, with the right of appeal after five (bans expired June 2019).
Julie Gray was ordered to pay £750 in costs, and Cordelia Gray and Jodie Gray £500 each.
James Gray and Cordelia Gray, 57 Narcot Road, Chalfont St Giles HP8 4DF Julie Cordelia Gray, 15 Weller Road, Amersham HP6 6LQ James Gray Jr, Chalk Hill Farm, Chalk Lane, Hyde Heath, Amersham HP6 5SA Jodie June Gray (also known as Jodie Keet), 14 Middle Meadow, Chalfont St Giles HP8 4QS
Update September 2021
The Bucks Free Press reported that James Gray was let off £200,000-worth of fines due to bankruptcy.
Gray was ordered to pay more than £1million in fines and court costs and has served jail time since he was convicted of multiple animal welfare offences in 2008.
He attempted to appeal the convictions at London’s High Court in 2013, but although two of his 11 original convictions were overturned, he was ultimately unsuccessful and had another £200,000 added to his legal bill.
In August 2021, Gray, of 57 Narcot Road in Chalfont St Giles, had £223,453-worth of fines written off.
Documents attached to the court listing state that the amount was remitted due to Gray being bankrupt, having served prison time, and the RSPCA refusing the money.
In 2014, Gray was hauled back before the courts and was jailed for four-and-a-half years after he fleeced pensioners out of thousands of pounds for cowboy building works.
In an attempt to raise funds to pay off his fines and court costs, Gray conned an 88-year-old former British Library academic out of £20,000 for work which experts valued at just £150.
He drained £18,000 out of another 80-year-old victim’s account, leaving him with just £300 after repeatedly demanding money from him. This victim died just months after the money was found to be missing.
Gray, who had done this work under the fake name ‘Joseph De Paula’, admitted two counts of fraud by false representation before he was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court.
We collate data on animal cruelty convictions in the UK
