CONVICTED (2021) | serial animal abuser David Robert Davies, born 8 March 1959, of 1 Maes Dilen, Pentre-Cwrt, Llandysul SA44 5DF – left two ponies to suffer so badly that they had to be euthanised to end their pain.
An animal welfare officer from Carmarthenshire County Council found the two ponies being kept in the dark in waist-high soiled bedding with their hooves so badly deformed that the vet said it was the worst case he had seen in over forty years of practice.
During their investigation, the council found that Davies had previous convictions for similar animal welfare offences which meant he had been banned from keeping horses for life.
Davies pleaded guilty to two offences of causing unnecessary suffering to two horses and breaching a disqualification order in respect of horses.
The case came to light in February 2020, when a council animal welfare officer carried out an unannounced inspection of sheep kept by Davies at fields he rents in Drefach Felindre.
Whilst waiting for him to arrive she noticed a shed covered with wood pallets and tarpaulin – and on peering through a hole could see two ponies standing in their own faeces.
Accompanied by a vet from the Animal Plant and Health Agency, she entered the shed to find the cob-type ponies in soiled bedding with their coats matted in dried faeces, their hooves badly overgrown and tails so short it appeared they may have eaten their own out of boredom.
The ponies had nothing to eat – one had no water and the other had faeces in his water bucket.
They were kept in the dark, unable to look out of the shed and were only able to touch each other over a wooden barrier that separated them.
The officer re-visited the ponies when the owner of the field agreed to state they had been abandoned on his land.
It was only when they were brought out into the daylight that their true condition became evident.
Both were taken away for treatment but just days later had to be euthanised, the vet saying he believed they had been suffering for at least 12 months.
The investigation that followed revealed that Davies was disqualified from owning, keeping or participating in the keeping of horses for life following a prosecution by the RSPCA in 2015.
Cllr Philip Hughes, Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Protection, said: “If it were not for the actions of our animal health officer, who acted on a hunch to check the shed, these ponies may still be suffering today.
“This is an awful, and entirely avoidable, case of shocking neglect.”
Sentencing: 12 weeks in custody, suspended for 24 months; 12-month community order with 250 hours of unpaid work and rehabilitation. Ordered to pay costs of £6,367 and a victim surcharge of £122. Already banned for life from keeping horses.
Tivyside Advertiser
Wales Online
Previous conviction (October 2015)
Davies appeared in court alongside partner Leanne Jane Summers after 16 horses in their care were found in “terrible state of neglect”.
Davies was sent to prison for 26 weeks after he admitted to causing unnecessary suffering to 16 horses. He was banned from keeping horses for life.
Summers was given a suspended prison sentence of 26 weeks. She was banned from keeping horses for five years and was ordered to pay a £4,000 fine.
Two horses were put down and two were found dead.
The RSPCA was called after concern was raised about the welfare of eight horses in the Rhydargaeuau area. Two were found dead and a third — a black colt — was put to sleep on veterinary advice.
“These horses were all in a terrible state of neglect,” RSPCA deputy chief inspector Julie Fadden said. “Two were already dead, and very sadly, the black colt was in such a bad state of health that nothing could be done to save him.
“The other five were Welsh mountain ponies and were ranging in condition from thin to emaciated.”
RSPCA inspector Keith Hogben attended another location at Capel Dewi where he discovered a further 10 horses.
“Sadly one of the horses was so weak that a vet said he had to be put to sleep,” he said. “It was horrendous and so sad. Six out of the ten horses were very thin.
“People have these horses and don’t understand how to look after them. These are their basic needs and they need to be checked daily.”
The surviving horses were taken into RSPCA care.
Leanne Summers’ ban expired in February 2021.
