CONVICTED (2016) | Leon Henry Smith, born c. 1949, of 1 Castleford Houses, Castle Road, Okehampton, EX20 1HZ – multiple convictions for abuse of dogs and farm animals spanning decades.

In December 2015 officials visited land farmed by Smith following complaints from members of the public that pigs and poultry were being kept in appalling conditions, covered in mud and with inadequate shelter.

On visiting one field , officers discovered it was mired in deep mud and almost impossible to access.

The pig enclosure itself was surrounded by rubbish, planks of wood and other hazardous materials.

Five pigs also discovered suffering in the back of a small broken down van in the enclosure, with no water, and no dry lying area and virtually no ventilation.

At another location near Boasley, Okehampton, pigs were also discovered shut in the back of a van in complete darkness and again without water and no grassed area.

Further visits were carried out in March 2016 to the same locations after more concerns had been expressed about the way in Smith was keeping his poultry.

At Meldon officers again found the conditions for the livestock to be unacceptable – pigs were again being kept in an enclosure which was full of thick mud and no grass and in a trailer without water.

At Boasley, they also found sheep and poultry being kept in part of a field littered with rubbish including broken glass, wire mesh, wood with protruding nails and other scrap which risked causing injury or unnecessary suffering to the animals.

In 2012 Smith was convicted for other livestock offences as well as cruelty to 13 dogs.

The dogs, of varying ages and sizes, were found in an enclosure in “appalling” muddy conditions in February 2011.

They had no access to adequate dry and clean areas, and had poor shelter from the weather.

More pig carcasses were found nearby, as were the remains of a dead sheep. Various animal bones were also discovered scattered across a field.

The most shocking incident was when police officers discovered one of his dogs confined overnight in a parked van with a maggot ridden sheep carcass, alongside two others in unsuitable cages without food or water.

As at 2012 Smith had already been banned from keeping cattle and sheep twice after previous animal welfare offences in 1998, 1999 and 2008.

On 12 November 2012 he was banned from keeping dogs for ten years and fined a total of £1300.

In February 2014 Smith was fined after breaching the order banning him from keeping dogs.

Exeter Magistrates Court heard that Leon Smith kept a collie dog in a livestock trailer on his land at Meldon, near Okehampton for at least six days.

Following a tip-off trading standards officers visited Smith’s farm and found the dog in the trailer, which was littered with dog faeces. The animal’s water was frozen solid and no food was available.

Sentencing in relation to his 2016 conviction for ill-treatment of pigs, sheep and poultry. Banned from keeping all animals for 20 years

Okehampton Times