CONVICTED (2020) | Anthony (Tony) Curtis, born c. 1961, of Kerrin Farm, Kerrin Lane, Lydney GL15 6PL – a serial abuser of livestock
Anthony Curtis pleaded guilty to 25 animal welfare offences
and was given a lifetime ban on keeping livestock. The ban will take effect from January 2021 to allow Curtis time to test his cattle for tuberculosis and pass on their ownership.
The charges were brought by Gloucestershire County Council’s trading standards service.
Councillor Dave Norman, cabinet member responsible for trading standards, said: “In this case not only did the farmer fail to care properly for his livestock, but on several occasions he also showed little regard for the cleanliness and hygiene of animals which were intended for the human food chain.
“Members of the public are entitled to expect that locally produced food is farmed to a high standard of welfare and hygiene.
“Our officers work hard to ensure that farmers maintain these standards and take action such as this where necessary.”
Trading standards officers first visited Kerrin Farm in February 2019 following reports Curtis was keeping animals in terrible conditions and failing to adequately dispose of animal carcasses.
Curtis was cautioned for similar offences in 2017.
Officers found roughly 30 ducks living in cold, damp and squalid conditions, littered with the carcasses of around 60 other birds. On a later visit, they discovered ducks were fed stale bread with lumps of plastic inside.
Further offences Curtis committed included:
- Cattle were kept in a field littered with broken gates and timber with protruding nails.
- Pigs, cattle and ducks did not have water or a dry lying area
- Cattle were housed in deep muck and had to wade through liquid slurry to get to their feed, which was mouldy hay
- Hen houses had not been cleared out for a long time; hens were fed in filthy troughs and were laying eggs in dirty nesting boxes
- Officers also found the carcass of a calf which had not been covered
Curtis said his ill health left him unable to care for his stock.
A number of ducks and poultry were rehoused by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, who confirmed that Curtis had failed in his duty of care to the ducks.
Sentencing: conditional discharge; £185 towards costs. banned from keeping livestock for life.
Farmers Have To Realise and Know When To Retire and Call It A Day.
Failing Which: This Is The Result.
Before Animals Start To Suffer, in being Kept In Such Filthy Conditions. Farm Animals take a lot of Hard Work in being Cleaned Out Every Day, and You Cannot Always Afford to Pay For Hired Help. Especially when you are Starting To Get ill Health.