CONVICTED (2024) | livestock transporter Jonathan Botterill, born c. 1977, of Spellowgate, Driffield YO25 – filmed picking up a pig by her ears and flipping her onto her back.
Botterill, an employee of Chris Waite Transport, pleaded guilty to using violence likely to cause unnecessary fear, injury or suffering and for using prohibited handling techniques when unloading pigs.
He was filmed on CCTV lifting a terrified pig by her ears and flipping her onto her back at Cranswick Country Foods in Preston on August 31, 2023.
The court heard Animal Health Officers from East Riding of Yorkshire Council began investigating following a referral from a vet who worked for the Food Standards Agency.
Botterill was trained in the correct methods of handling pigs and other livestock and had 20 years of experience. During an interview, he admitted it was not an appropriate handling technique and failed to use his pig board or ask for assistance.
Sentencing | ordered to pay a £670 fine, a £268 victim surcharge, and £884.94 costs.
CONVICTED (2024) | Bogdan Gruia (aka Bogdan Gruya), born 28 June 1990, of 178 Frodingham Road, Scunthorpe DN15 7NN – part of a group of men that stole a pregnant ewe from a farm, slit her throat and left her to bleed to death.
Roma gypsy Gruia, who came to the UK from Craiova in Romania, indicated a plea of guilty to aiding and abetting “a person unknown” to cause unnecessary suffering to a protected animal by cutting her throat and leaving her to bleed to death.
The remains of the sheep and her unborn lambs were found in an alleyway near premises in the control of Gruia, a garage owner who gave the court an alternative address of Digby Street in, Scunthorpe
The sheep had been stolen from a farm near Epworth, and subsequently slaughtered in an inhumane manner.
Gruia was found not guilty of handling stolen goods.
Three other suspects are still being sought by Humberside Police who have released images of them.
Speaking after Gruia’s conviction, PC Grant of Humberside Police’s Rural Task Force said: “This is the first conviction for an incident relating to the theft of sheep in the North Lincolnshire area since it became a local problem in 2018.
“Operation Bo Peep has been running since 2021 to tackle this issue and has, over the last three years, reduced sheep theft by 80%.
“I hope this conviction gives the farming community confidence that the police take this matter seriously and will bring offenders to justice.
“Three suspects for this incident are still outstanding, so I appeal to the public again to identify them.
“Anyone who believes they can identify the outstanding suspects can call Humberside Police on 101 and quote investigation reference 22901960470. Alternatively contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
Sentencing | fined £769, ordered to pay a £308 victim services surcharge and £85 in costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.
CONVICTED (2024) | Paul Desbro, born September 1965, of 58 Hall Broome Gardens, Bolton Upon Dearne, Rotherham S63 8AJ – for cruelty to several sheep found starved and horrifically neglected on his smallholding.
Desbro was prosecuted by the RSPCA following an investigation into the welfare of the livestock in his care. Inspectors visited his smallholding in Mexborough Road in May 2023 following reports of a collapsed sheep.
Animal rescue officer Liz Braidley said that, when she arrived at the paddock, she found two sheep looking skinny and underweight and a third ewe collapsed against the fence.
The ewe was emaciated, with her bones clearly visible. Large sections of her fleece were missing and the skin underneath was red and sore and covered in scabs.
Her wounds were also swarmed with flies, fly eggs and maggots.
“She was trying to turn her head to groom herself and was clearly irritated by the flies around her which were relentlessly landing on her,” Ms Braidley said.
“At this point, I knew I needed further assistance so I contacted my colleagues, the police and a vet.”
Ms Braidley said she was then approached by a man claiming to be the friend of the sheep’s owner and explained that they were aware of her flystrike and had clipped some of her fleece.
However, Ms Braidley said: “…when I asked if they had contacted a vet, the man said no and stated: ‘We will have to call the knacker man tomorrow’.”
The RSPCA found the owner and the police seized three sheep. Sadly, the ewe was put to sleep by a vet to end her suffering.
RSPCA inspector, Jennie Ronksley, said: “This was a sad case involving the neglect of multiple sheep including an emaciated ewe who was so severely burdened with flystrike that her skin was absolutely crawling with maggots and clearly needed veterinary attention.”
Sentencing remarks referred to this as a “deeply concerning case” and called the photographs and video footage “disturbing”.
In mitigation, the court heard that Desbro entered an early guilty plea, that he shared the responsibility of the livestock kept on the smallholding with two other friends and was not experienced in keeping sheep so was ignorant of their welfare needs rather than malicious.
He was described as giving “well-meaning but incompetent care”. He had no previous convictions.
Sentencing | 12-month community order with 250 hours of unpaid work; £114 victim surcharge and £2,000 in costs. He was disqualified from keeping livestock for ten years and cannot appeal this for a minimum of five years. A deprivation order was also made for the two living sheep and their lambs.
CONVICTED (2024) | farmer Aeneas Carragher, born c. 1964, of 85 Skerriff Road, Cullyhanna, Newry BT35 0JW, and animal transporter Wayne Smyth, born c. 1988, of Annvale Gardens, Keady, Armagh BT60 2RS – for the callous disregard for the suffering of a dying dairy cow.
Cruel farmer Aeneas Carragher
On Monday, March 11, 2024, Aeneas Carragher was convicted of one charge of causing an animal to be transported that was not fit for the journey. Carragher was fined £500 plus £15 offender levy.
Wayne Smyth was convicted of one charge of transporting an animal that was not fit for the journey. Smyth was fined £500 plus £15 offender levy.
The case arose on February 13, 2023, when a DAERA Official Veterinarian (OV), at an abattoir, examined an animal that was presented by Smyth on behalf of Carragher.
The cow was very thin and shivering. A lairage worker attempted to make the cow walk, but the animal immediately fell in the pen.
The OV carried out an ante-mortem examination of the recumbent cow. The animal was emaciated with prominent transverse and dorsal spinal processes, and the OV estimated that the animal had a body condition score of “1” or less.
The animal was humanely destroyed, where she lay, to avoid any further suffering.
The OV’s professional opinion was that this cow was too thin and weak to have been transported and was caused unnecessary suffering by this action.
Gannon, who was previously convicted of running an illegal venison supply plant, was prosecuted following a police investigation into his activities initiated in January 2020.
Searches were carried out at a property in the Castlederg area and in two food processing plants in Coalisland and Scotland. This led to a further investigation into money laundering.
In court Gannon pleaded guilty to various charges in relation to the possession of criminal property.
Detective Chief Inspector Wilson said: “We welcome the outcome and want to remind the public and any business owners that we will continue to tackle all types of criminality including wildlife crime such as deer poaching and money laundering, investigating reports accordingly.
“The investigations into Mr Gannon’s unlawful activity, were conducted collaboratively with partners from the Food Standard Agency, Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, and Derry City and Strabane Environmental Health Council, which highlights our shared determination and commitment to disrupting these types of crime.
“Going forward, the local community is encouraged to report any similar incidents of deer poaching to police, to prevent this illegal activity taking place. I would also like to add that when investigating officers are considering wildlife crime other offences may be identified”.
Sentencing | 200 hours of community service; confiscation order for £6,000.
CONVICTED (2024) | Gillian Moir, born August 1997, and Adrian Ogg, born c. 1979, of Ramana Farm, Barthol Chapel, Inverurie AB51 8TB – kept numerous malnourished animals in poor conditions.
Gillian Moir and Adrian Ogg were given a 10-year ban after SSPCA inspectors found dead and dying animals on their farm
Farm worker Adrian Ogg and his partner Gillian Moir admitted keeping small animals in “squalid” conditions while sheep, ponies and goats were discovered in an emaciated state.
The Scottish SPCA carried out an investigation into the couple after receiving a report of concern about the wellbeing of a pony named Leo.
The pony, a 30-year-old Connemara gelding, was described as having a poor body condition and despite having a “bright demeanour” his eyes were yellow and jaundiced.
A vet determined that it would be difficult to pin the condition of the horse on one matter given the age of the animal but stated that “it is likely that the body condition had occurred over a period of time, likely three weeks if due to malnutrition, but possibly longer if an underlying condition was involved.”
They concluded that veterinary assistance should have been sought for the animal to check for the underlying cause of the poor body condition.
Two older sheep who were housed with Leo were also found to have bodies that were in poor condition, showing lethargy and struggling to stand up to be examined.
Each of the ewes’ front teeth were worn down to the gum line and both had to be euthanised.
A pygmy goat named Pepper was found dead at the farm.
A post-mortem was carried out and found that “a failure to seek veterinary treatment” and “failure to the poor body condition” of the animal resulted in his unnecessary suffering.
Investigators discovered two hutches partially covered with a blanket in a shed where most of their dogs were kept.
In the first hutch – which was described as “filthy” – they found the carcasses of three dead ferrets.
One live ferret with no access to food or water was found in the first hutch.
His condition was “weak, lethargic, extremely dehydrated” and he could not open either of his eyes, which were covered in pus and appeared to be infected.
He was taken to Donview Veterinary Centre where they tried to treat his condition, but the decision was taken to euthanise him on welfare grounds.
It was believed that the ferret would have died within the next 24 hours due to starvation and dehydration.
The vet’s opinion was that he had suffered for at least a week, though probably longer.
Within the second hutch they found the carcasses of two more ferrets.
Moir and Ogg each pleaded guilty to four charges of causing animals unnecessary suffering.
Moir’s lawyer told the court his client had become “overwhelmed” after taking in too many animals and struggled to effectively provide care for them.
He added that a lightning strike during a recent storm caused the pony to stop eating and that the sheep’s teeth were worn down due to their old age.
However, when it came to the condition of the ferrets, Mr Burnett conceded that they had been “forgotten about”.
“They had not been provided with food and water – that’s accepted,” he said.
Mr Burnett asked if a disqualification order was made, that it not include animals the couple breed and sell as part of their livelihood.
Ogg’s lawyer said her client had been working as a farm hand in Aberdeenshire for 20 years and “would not have been kept on to look after animals if he was not good at it”.
She added: “He accepts he has done wrong but a recent visit [from the SSPCA] appears to have shown some improvement.
“This is all he’s ever done and he would struggle to find other work.”
Sheriff Johnston told the pair that she believed it was necessary to make a disqualification order banning them from keeping certain animals.
“Your actions in failing to secure veterinary treatment caused these animals unnecessary suffering,” she said.
The sheriff described the condition the ferrets were found in as “frankly squalid” and had to be euthanised.
Sentencing | fined a combined total of £4,950. Banned from keeping animals for 10 years, excluding sheep, pigs, cats and dogs; disqualified from dealing in animals, except sheep and pigs.
CONVICTED (2023) | Andrew Marwood, born 4 August 1995, of Manor Close, Kirkbymoorside YO62 6EP and Lee Pearcy of The Mile, Pocklington, York YO42 – for sickening violence towards a terrified pig.
Andrew Marwood kept his job with the unnamed pig production company despite being filmed assaulting a helpless pig
Marwood and Pearcy, employees of an unnamed Holderness pig production company, were fined for animal welfare offences.
Driver Marwood and fieldsman Pearcy pleaded guilty to offences under animal transport legislation for using violence likely to cause unnecessary fear, injury or suffering and for using prohibited handling techniques when loading pigs for transport.
The court heard how animal health officers from East Riding Council undertook an investigation after video footage of pigs being loaded onto a lorry at a farm in Wyton, Holderness, on April 24, 2023, was received from a member of the public.
The video showed Marwood lifting a pig, who was reluctant to load, by the tail and hitting her with a pig board (a board used to guide pigs when moving them). When the pig still refused to load onto the lorry, she was then hit on multiple occasions with a pig board by Pearcy.
The investigation found the pig company had apparently provided extensive training on the correct methods for handling and moving pigs.
Following internal disciplinary hearings, Pearcy was dismissed while Marwood was transferred into a driving role which does not involve handling livestock.
Sentencing | Marwood was fined £480 and £800 costs with a £192 victim surcharge and Pearcy was fined £384 and £800 costs with a £154 victim surcharge.
CONVICTED (2023) | Daniel Mark Hoskin, born 21 April 1988, of Rose Terrace, St Anns Chapel, Gunnislake PL18 9HT – starved animals on his farm and left them in severe pain.
Hoskin admitted a total of eight animal cruelty offences, which all occurred during March and April 2023.
Horrified inspectors from Cornwall Council found animals owned by Hoskin in a shocking state.
These sheep were among many animals left to suffer on Daniel Hoskin’s disgusting farm
Kevin Hill, for the Council, informed the court that inspectors found sheep and cattle being kept in an unsuitable environment with access to hazardous items including wire, plastic and carcasses. There were cattle and sheep that had not received prompt or effective treatment and they did not have a suitable diet either.
Hoskin previously received a caution for cruelty offences in 2017
The admitted charges found that Hoskin:
As a keeper of a cattle herd failing to apply both ear tags within 20 days of birthday.
Didn’t provide a suitable diet with sufficient feed to four cattle and five sheep.
Didn’t provide four cattle and five sheep a suitable environment by leaving them access to hazardous objects such as wire and plastic.
Failed to provide 19 cattle and 38 sheep prompt and effective treatment thus failing to protect them from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
Didn’t provide enough feed and water for 29 cattle and 38 sheep.
Failed to store or dispose of 21 bovine carcases and nine sheep carcases.
Didn’t notify the secretary of state (Defra) to the death of cattle within seven days and didn’t share the ear tag number, the date of death and the holding on which it died.
Failed to provide prompt and effective treatment for a collapsed ewe.
Sentencing magistrates told Hoskin that his actions caused “serious suffering to the animals”.
Sentencing | six-month custodial, suspended for 18 months; 180 hours of unpaid work; £154 victim surcharge and court costs of £3,478.21. Disqualified from keeping farm animals for a period of five years (expires November 2028).
CONVICTED (2023) | Charles W Gibson, born c. 1972, and Alison Bailey, born c. 1979, of Leonards Farm, Hot Lane, Biddulph Moor, Stoke-on-Trent ST8 7HP – for the appalling neglect of dozens of animals found dead and dying on their squalid dairy farm.
The couple, who left livestock to suffer and die in dung and slurry, stood ashen-faced in Telford Magistrates Court as a district judge condemned their “utterly disgraceful” animal neglect.
In a visit to Leonards Farm one officer had described the “stench of rotting animals to be overwhelming” and the scenes they found were appalling.
The court saw shocking videos of rows of dead and emaciated cattle who had been denied even water to drink for long periods. The judge said the videos he had seen showed dung and slurry had been ankle-deep at best.
Farm buildings had holes in the roof and even no roof at all while concrete floors had been covered in slurry and manure because Gibson “could not be bothered” to clean them out.
“It was utterly disgraceful,” said District Judge Kevin Grego. “Animals had died and been left where they lay. Dead animals were left in unguarded open pits which other animals could just walk into.
“Charles Gibson, you ignored any proper view of animal husbandry. All the animals in your care were very badly mistreated.”
Gibson pleaded guilty to 28 charges of causing unnecessary suffering and failing to ensure the welfare of cattle, sheep, goats, a herd of 26 cattle and a flock of 31 sheep including one blind ram.
His co-accused Alison Bailey admitted neglecting a flock of chickens.
She pleaded guilty to one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an injured young hen, another charge of failing to ensure the needs of an animal were met, and another that she failed to protect a flock of more than 50 young and laying hens from pain, suffering, injury and disease.
The court was told that the number of charges had been reduced from more than 100 to the 28 that Gibson faced and the three against Bailey.
The judge said that the floors of farm buildings had been “unscraped for months” and “living beasts were left to rot and indeed die”.
The offences had been discovered between May and December 2020 by trading standards officers who had received a complaint from a member of the public.
Jane Sarginson KC, prosecuting, had told the court that a council officer had “never seen animals more desperate for water”. An officer was “mugged” by the animals when a bucket of water was taken into one of the pens.
Thirty-five calves on the site drank 75 litres of water in one go, she told the court.
A calf, she said, had a “tennis ball-sized lump on the side of its face” and a bull had been kept “deep in muck and slurry over a foot deep”.
In a visit to the farm one officer had described the “stench of rotting animals to be overwhelming” with five dead and rotting calves covered in fly and maggot infestation.
She added that one poor creature was thought to be pregnant but in fact had a prolapse and had to be put down on the spot.
A large number of animals had to be euthanised by vets, their condition being so poor, including a piglet that had been stuck in the mud. Some 29 calves had to be “humanely dispatched,” said Jane Sarginson.
Two burial pits had been found on the site, despite it being illegal to dispose of creatures in this way.
Adrian Roberts, mitigating for Gibson and Bailey, asked the judge to be as lenient as he could as Gibson was earning £600 per week but had £20,000 in debts. Bailey, he said, had mental health concerns.
He asked the judge to allow them to keep their pets, including cats, dogs, chickens and goats, but this was denied.
They were given 48 hours to arrange for their domestic pets to be taken away from them.
Sentencing | Gibson: 20-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months; 200 hours of unpaid work over the next 12 months; £4,000 in court costs. Bailey: 80 hours of unpaid work; £1,000 in court costs. They were also both disqualified from keeping all animals, including pets, and banned from being party to any control or influence, dealing and transportation of animals, indefinitely.
CONVICTED (2023) | cock-fighter Douglas Rufus Price, born 22 May 1984, of Valley Farm, Low Lane, Clayton, Bradford BD14 6QA – kept 22 underweight hens and cockerels in makeshift pens without food and water and suffering from fighting injuries.
Bradford farmer Douglas Price aka Dougieboy Price was convicted of animal neglect and cockfighting offences
West Yorkshire Police and the RSPCA attended the working farm in February 2022 and found the birds in makeshift pens, many without food and water. Some were suffering from feather-loss and injuries consistent with fighting.
Seized mobile phone footage later revealed that Price was keeping and training the birds to fight.
The RSPCA found a number of underweight hens and cockerels kept in pens without food and water and suffering from fighting injuries.
RSPCA inspector Demi Hodby, who investigated for the animal charity, said: “All of the birds at the site appeared to be underweight with feather loss on their chest and the majority of them were bald in this area.
“On closer observation, a number of the cockerels had injuries and all appeared to have had their combs cut.
“There was a limited amount of food and water provided in each pen and some had no provisions at all.
“Inside one of the wooden pens there was a hen which was unable to bear weight on one of her legs.
“Inside the metal pen there was a cockerel which was limping and had a swollen leg and inside a shed there was another hen which was also limping.
“Due to the number of animal welfare concerns, I contacted a vet immediately who confirmed to me that a number of these birds would have been suffering.”
The vet found that a total of 14 hens and cockerels were in a state of neglect and some had been caused unnecessary suffering.
One dead cockerel was located at the scene, and sadly three birds were subsequently put to sleep on the advice of the vet to end their suffering.
Ian Muttitt, chief inspector for the RSPCA’s special operations unit (SOU), said: “I have investigated cockfighting offences for a number of years and reviewed hours of footage relating to this crime and it was very clear to me that several sequences of the footage obtained from Price’s mobile phone depicted cockfight sparring sessions.
“It was clear to me that the person responsible for these birds has an unhealthy interest in cockfighting and was keeping and training these birds for the purpose of animal fighting.”
Seized mobile phone footage later revealed that Price, who has links to the travelling community, was keeping and training birds to fight
In mitigation, the court heard that Price is illiterate, with no formal education, and is also the sole carer for his children and grandchildren.
The surviving birds were taken into the RSPCA’s care and were subsequently rehomed.
Sentencing | nine-month custodial suspended for 18 months; 20 rehabilitation activity days; 100 hours of unpaid work; £128 victim surcharge and £400 in costs. Disqualified from keeping hens and cockerels for 12 months (expires September 2024).
