#MostEvil | William Cassie, born c, 1956, of Portstown Farm, Keithhall, Inverurie AB51 6HL – left animals emaciated, suffering illness and “roaring for food”
The charges against William Cassie, who is already banned from keeping equines until August 2023, related to his care of animals at Mill of Kinmuck, near Ellon, Lower Wanford Farm in Alvah, near Banff; his home at Portstown in Keithhall; and Mains of Montcoffer in Macduff between August 16 and December 17, 2018..
Authorities seized cows and dogs during raids in December 2018, finding animals which were dead or had to be put down because of their condition.
On 4 December 2020 Cassie was found guilty of four charges. He initially faced 12 charges when he went on trial earlier in 2020, but two were dropped and he was found not guilty of six others.
After reviewing the evidence at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, Sheriff Margaret Hodge ruled Cassie had failed to provide adequate care for a cow with ailments including severe pneumonia, which it could have been suffering from for three weeks without intervention.
She said Cassie had failed to properly care for another cow, kept in “fairly terrible” conditions, which was so ill it had to be euthanised.
A post-mortem found it weighed around 45 stone – less than half that of a typical healthy adult.
Cassie was found guilty of failing to provide adequate care for a malnourished calf which was “roaring for food” and isolated from its mother in a dark shed.
He was also found to have kept dogs and cattle in hazardous areas with faeces, rusty metal, scrap machinery and a collapsed building.
Defence agent George Mathers told the court his client “wants to be able to continue farming and, at the age of 64, isn’t considering retirement.”
Scottish SPCA chief inspector Alison Simpson suggested the punishment did not go far enough.
She said: “We have worked with the local authority, who submitted this case, in the past to investigate the welfare of animals under the accused’s care.
“Given Cassie’s history of failing to ensure the welfare of animals which were his responsibility, we are disappointed with the sentence given.
“We have had dealings with Cassie over a number of years, including successfully prosecuting him for equine neglect in 2018.
“Cassie is now banned from owning cattle and horses, but we question his fitness to look after any species of animal.”
Sentencing: Cassie was fined £3,000 and banned from owning or keeping cattle for 12 months. This is in addition to his five-year ban on keeping equines, which runs until August 2023.
If you cannot keep them. Don’t bother to have them in the first place. You also need to know, when to admit enough is enough, and Retire.