CONVICTED (2022) | Davina Ann Leedham, born c. 1960, currently of no fixed abode – for cruelty to 13 horses.
Horse trader Leedham failed to explore and address the poor condition of 12 equines, and caused unnecessary suffering to a 13th horse by failing to seek appropriate professional veterinary care to address an infected wound to his leg. She also failed to meet the needs of two horses.
She appeared before Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on October 25, 2022, for sentencing after a trial – heard in her absence in July 2021 – found her guilty.
An arrest warrant without bail was issued following the trial and Leedham was arrested by police in October 2022 and held in custody before being sentenced via video link.
RSPCA inspectors and officers from Bransby Horses attended a location in Branston Fen, Bardney in July 2019, following concerns raised by the police who were in the area dealing with an unrelated matter. A vet was also in attendance.
There they discovered a large number of horses with many in poor body condition.
Many of those found outside were kept in areas where there was little to no grass available in any of the enclosures and there was no shelter.
Inside a barn were three penned areas housing two ponies and a horse.
A small enclosure housed a chestnut pony in poor bodily condition, with the equine’s spine and pelvis clearly visible and hooves overgrown. The pen was very small and was constructed from a combination of metal gates and wooden pallets, measuring approximately 8ft by ft.
Further into the barn was a slightly larger enclosure with fencing approximately 6-7ft high, giving the pen the appearance of a cage.
A bay coloured horse in poor bodily condition with ribs, spine and pelvis clearly visible was housed in this pen. This horse stood in the same position throughout, weaving his head from side to side. His hooves were also overgrown.
One horse had an untreated wound on his right quarter.
One colt was in discomfort and pain due to persistent lameness. Very sadly, an independent vet advised he should be put to sleep on welfare grounds.
In mitigation the defendant said that she had failed to attend the trial as her mother had been ill. She claimed that the horse with the leg wound had been under vet treatment.
Speaking after the case, RSPCA inspector Kate Burris said: “The conditions which these horses had been kept in were unacceptable and so many of them were in such poor bodily condition with their ribs visible and overgrown hooves – it was heartbreaking to see.
“We are so very grateful to Bransby Horses for taking on such a large number of horses and I am so pleased that they have all thrived since being in their care.”
Rachel Jenkinson, external welfare manager at Bransby Horses said: “Bransby Horses were able to provide the specialist care and attention these horses needed thanks to the fantastic support we receive from the public and we thank them unreservedly – it doesn’t bear thinking what would have happened were it not for charities like us and the RSPCA.
“Following a long road to recovery 14 of the horses we took in that day have recovered well but the trauma they endured cannot be ignored.”
Sentencing | 20 weeks’ immediate custody; £500 costs. Banned from keeping all animals for 10 years.
CONVICTED (2022) | Ian Anthony Bowman, born October 1972, of The Bungalow, Arties Mill Grounds, Wressle Road, Brigg DN20 9LF – kept donkeys and ponies knee-deep in mud and riddled with lice.
Ian Bowman, who works as a chef, neglected ponies and donkeys in his care and has been banned from keeping them for the next 10 years.
Bowman pleaded guilty to animal welfare offences relating to three donkeys and two Shetland ponies that he was responsible for.
Officers from three animal welfare charities found issues including overgrown hooves and donkeys repeatedly biting and scratching themselves due to lice.
The RSPCA investigated the matter in January and February 2021 alongside The Donkey Sanctuary and Bransby Horses, based in Lincoln.
Mick Flower, the deputy head of prosecutions at the RSPCA, said: “The welfare officers across the three charities discovered the three donkeys and two ponies were being kept in poor condition and had been provided with inadequate shelter.
“Some had live lice in their coats and significantly overgrown hooves with no evidence that a farrier had attended for many months.
“The animals had also not received adequate worm control or sufficient dental care.”
The charges being faced by Bowman included causing unnecessary suffering to one donkey and not ensuring that the needs of all five animals were being met.
A vet said in their witness statement: “Dental care, hoof care and endoparasite control are all part of the preventative healthcare that a responsible owner would provide to their equines.
“These are not optional extras of horse ownership and are required in order to keep the animals healthy, pain-free and to provide good welfare standards.
“This horse owner has therefore neglected most of the basic preventative health care requirements of these equines and that has ultimately caused suffering in two out of five of them.”
All of the animals were taken in by Bransby Horses and after receiving veterinary care they were slowly introduced to relevant herds.
Rachel Jenkinson, the welfare manager at Bransby Horses, added: “After they were found to be living in unsuitable conditions – knee-deep in mud and riddled with lice – and without their basic needs being met, we were keen to remove these equines as soon as possible.
“The complex needs of donkeys and ponies are completely different and were not being met in this mixed group environment.
“They are now receiving the individual care they require and are flourishing after months of hard work by our teams.”
Sentencing: ordered to pay a total of £2,330 in fines, costs and charges. Ten-year ban on owning equine animals but can appeal after five years.
CONVICTED (2021) | puppy farmer/horse dealer Geoffrey John Bennett, born c. 1954, of Hurst Farm, Portsmouth Road, Ripley, Woking GU23 6EY – kept dozens of animals in squalor on his puppy farm; some found collapsed and dying in filthy conditions.
Geoffrey Bennett
Geoffrey Bennett, a dealer of low value horses and donkeys with strong links to the travelling community, was jailed for 19 weeks having pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to two horses and one goat, failing to meet the needs of 171 animals, and six offences of failing to properly dispose of animal by-products.
Bennett “accepted no responsibility nor expressed anything resembling remorse” in relation to the charges, Recorder Darren Reed told the court.
A total of 204 animals were discovered and tragically two starving horses and a collapsed goat had to be put down at the scene to prevent them from any more suffering.
The 201 others were taken for appropriate care, including 129 horses and donkeys, 59 dogs, three alpacas, five goats, four chickens and one duck.
Some of the sickest animals received immediate veterinary care while others were taken for treatment nearby, and those that were considered fit to travel by on-site vets were transferred to various charities and sanctuaries.
Bennett and partner Christine Kelly went on trial, accused of 24 counts, most of which were related to animal cruelty. The case against Kelly was later discontinued although she went on to be prosecuted for other animal welfare offences*.
RSPCA rescuers worked with Bransby Horses, Redwings, The Horse Trust, The Donkey Sanctuary and World Horse Welfare in “one of the biggest coordinated rescue missions the UK has ever seen”.
Rescuers discovered two starving ponies, suffering from cyathostominosis, in one pen and a goat collapsed in another. Sadly these animals couldn’t be saved.
Herds of ponies, many riddled with worms, were living out in fields with hazardous metal and broken fencing sticking up from the thick mud. Inside two barns were pens full with donkeys, goats, alpacas and ponies, many of them standing on top of 2ft to 3ft of months’ worth of waste and faeces.
Bennett failed to provide drinking water, parasitic treatment, adequate nutrition, dental care, hoof and nail trimming, veterinary treatment for infections, disease and lameness, clean and dry resting places and living space.
The charity also found dogs, some heavily pregnant, chained and tethered in a filthy yard, with others shut inside small cages or makeshift kennels.
During the raid, “bones and carcasses” were discovered wrapped in horse rugs on a muck heap including “one equine [carcass]”, prosecutor Hazel Stevens told the court.
Bone samples were collected for analysis and according to Ms Stevens, a goat leg was also found.
A video showing upsetting scenes of what the RSPCA discovered upon executing the warrant was played in court as Bennett watched on.
Twenty foals were born in charity care, two of which were stillborn, as well as six goat kids, one alpaca and nine puppies – but two died shortly after birth.
Defending, Michael Fullerton said Bennett was retired and had “no intention” of going back to farming.
He added: “In respect of the general condition of the farm, December 2018 and January 2019 were particularly wet.
“The areas with significantly muddy tracks, that was because tractor would go through to spread the hay for the horses. Muddy yes, but food was available for those in the field.”
Bennett was sentenced for causing unnecessary suffering to two horses and one goat, failing to meet the needs of 171 animals and six counts of failing to properly dispose of animal by-products.
Speaking about the case, RSPCA Special Operations Unit case officer Kirsty Withnall said: “The RSPCA and World Horse Welfare officers had received complaints about the farm and had been looking into these concerns and gathering evidence.
“This was a huge multi-agency rescue mission which was the culmination of weeks of planning and evidence gathering. In total, there were 100 staff from different agencies working on the case to help round up the animals.
“It took almost 12 hours on the day to assess all of the animals, load them into horse boxes and animal ambulances, and move them off-site; making it one of the biggest coordinated rescue missions the UK has ever seen.
“We had to have a plan in place that would allow us to remove a large number of animals on the day but we hoped that wouldn’t be necessary and had no idea what action would be taken until vets were able to assess all of the animals.”
She added: “The reason I do my job is because I care passionately about animals and I’ll be overjoyed when all of these animals are in loving homes being given the care, love and attention they deserve.”
PC Hollie Iribar from Surrey Police commented: “As a Rural and Wildlife Crime Officer for Surrey Police, I have witnessed some devastating acts of animal cruelty over the years.
“This was one of the most difficult cases I’ve seen, and I am grateful to the RSPCA and our other partner agencies for the hard work put in to bring this case to trial.
“I’m very glad that this heartbreaking case has seen a resolution in the courts, and that the animals involved were rescued and given a second chance at a happy and healthy life.”
A spokesperson from World Horse Welfare described the case as “challenging”, and added: “We are relieved that we were able to help remove so many horses from these conditions so they could have a better life and receive the care they deserve.”
Sentencing: jailed for 19 weeks and disqualified from keeping all animals for life.
Christine June Kelly was found guilty of 15 offences under the Animal Welfare Act after a trial over dates in June and August 2022.
Christine Kelly
Kelly was found guilty of failing to meet the needs of 131 equines by failing to provide a suitable environment, a water supply, adequate nutrition, routine dental or farrier care, or adequate parasitic treatment or control and treatment for prevention of illness and disease.
She was also convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to a number of horses, dogs and goats.
She was handed a 26-week prison sentence – suspended for 18 months – as well as being disqualified from keeping all animals for life. A deprivation order – relating to 12 dogs and seven horses – was also issued, meaning the charities can now rehome them.
All other animals had previously been signed over for care by the charities or to be rehomed.
CONVICTED (2016) | Matthew Groves, born c. 1991, of 83 Howbeck Drive, Edlington, Doncaster DN12 1QH – for cruelty to horses including a six-month-old foal that collapsed and died.
Horse trader and traveller Groves appeared at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court on Monday 19 September 2016 for what was meant to be the start of a trial, and entered guilty pleas to four charges.
World Horse Welfare was called to a youngster in distress and Field Officer Sarah Tucker attended as a matter of urgency, finding the six-month-old foal collapsed.
With the assistance of the RSPCA, Bransby Horses, a vet and the Police, the foal and two other ponies were removed from the field under the Animal Welfare Act (2006).
Groves failed to comply with a Warning Notice issued by the RSPCA over the remaining two ponies regarding provision of a suitable diet and so in early January 2016 they were also legally removed due to their deteriorating condition.
Sarah Tucker said: “I can only describe the scene I faced last December as tragic. The collapsed foal had clearly been in a distressed state for some time. Because he was so weak we decided World Horse Welfare’s closest Rescue and Rehoming Centre was too much of a journey for this urgent case, so we worked with Bransby Horses to take them to the safety of their Lincoln centre.”
She continued: “It was a relief to be able to remove the horses; however despite vet Lynn Mabbit’s best efforts to save the colt foal, very sadly he died shortly after he was rescued. The sentence reflected the severity of this case and it is reassuring to know that Mr Groves will no longer be permitted to keep horses.”
Sentence: jailed for 18 weeks; £750 costs and £80 victim surcharge. Lifetime ban on keeping equines.
