CONVICTED (2019) | Arron Lee Dixon, born 26 January 1992, of Aberfan Fawr, Merthyr Tydfil CF48 4PE – neglected and beat his horses

Arron Lee Dixon, owner of Dixon’s Removals & Clearances, was found guilty of a string of animal welfare offences relating to three ponies.

The father-of-one failed to provide a suitable diet and environment for the ponies, who were being kept at a site in Bryngoleu, and was even caught beating one of them.

All three animals – a grey gelding Welsh, a male skewbald native and a small male skewbald native – were found by RSPCA officers to be underweight and had little or no land to graze on or supplementary feed.

One skewbald pony was so underweight and in such poor condition that a vet said he had “suffered unnecessarily” while another pony had escaped from the field and was found grazing elsewhere.

On March 21, 2019, when RSPCA officers were carrying out a follow-up check on the welfare of the ponies, an officer also caught Dixon beating one of the animals.

The ponies were taken into the care of the RSPCA and were made available for rehoming.

Dixon, who runs a house and rubbish clearance business called Dixon’s Removals, was convicted of five animal welfare offences dating to February and March 2019. He had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing but was found guilty in his absence.

An RSPCA spokesman said the charity had already given Dixon advice on horse care in February because the ponies had little or no land to graze. But when officers returned on March 21, Dixon hadn’t addressed the problem or provided supplementary feed and the ponies were underweight.

It was during this visit while waiting for a vet and the police to arrive, Dixon was caught beating the skewbald native pony.

Gemma Cooper, an RSPCA spokeswoman, said: “These ponies were grazed illegally on inappropriate land without supplementary feed, and therefore were not having their needs met and one was so underweight, vets found him to be suffering.

“We tried to work with Dixon previously but returned to the site to find improvements had not been made. One pony had even escaped the field and was subsequently found grazing elsewhere.

“Thankfully, we were able to rescue these ponies and offer them a second chance of happiness. All three have made an amazing transformation and are now available for rehoming.”

Dixon was found guilty of three charges relating to the weight of the animals, one charge for failing to provide a suitable diet and one charge for failing to meet the skewbald native pony’s needs to be protected from pain, suffering or injury by inappropriate handling and physical ill-treatment including hitting.

Sentencing | 18-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months; 20 rehabilitation days. 10-week curfew; £1,000 in court costs. Banned for five years from keeping animals (expires December 2024).

WalesOnline