CONVICTED (2022) | Peter Armitage, born March 1981, of Lochquoy Farm, Durran, Castletown, Thurso, Caithness KW14 8TE and his former employee Kyle R Mackay, born c. 1998, now of Birsay in Orkney – failed to provide 2000 adult hens with sufficient food and water, causing their deaths,
Armitage, director of the now dissolved company Caithness Free Range Eggs Ltd, was jailed for two years after inspectors found a litany of failings at his farm, including dead hen carcasses and rat droppings.
He was also banned from keeping animals for 15 years as a result of the offences, which occurred between September 2016 and September 2017.
Farm manager Kyle Mackay, previously of Shelbay, John O’Groats, was given a Community Payback Order requiring him to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.
Mackay, who was 17 at the time the offences occurred, was in charge when Armitage was not working.
The court heard how the company came to the attention of Highland Council as a result of an anonymous call on July 7, 2017.
The call stated: “Rats and dead chickens lying everywhere the place is disgusting they need shut down, this place is not up to standards for any animal to live in, the poor chickens look like they are dying.”
As a result, an unannounced inspection was carried out by the council’s Environmental Health and Animal and Plant Health Agency on July 18 that same year.
The farm was found to be in a poor state of repair and very dirty with dead birds and parts of dead birds visible to inspectors as they walked around.
Pigs were found roaming the outbuildings and chicken houses, with chicken carcasses lying out in the open.
Inspectors noted chicken feet and feathers hanging out from the mouths of the pigs.
One of the chicken sheds was carpeted with what looked like a whole flock of decomposing birds and chicken carcasses were found within the egg collection areas.
Trays of collected eggs on benches were covered in bird faeces and rat droppings.
A farm worker said that the chickens had been dead for “about a month and a half.”
Inspectors returned for a second inspection the following day and found that the poultry and pigs had access to bait boxes which contained rat poison.
The environmental health officer spoke with Armitage and it was agreed that he would voluntarily cease trading with immediate effect.
He agreed not to offer or supply any eggs for sale which was subject to further engagements to rectify the issues.
The senior veterinary Inspector instructed Armitage to stop feeding the pigs raw eggs and prevent them from accessing the hen houses. He served a movement prevention notice on Armitage.
Later, on July 21, Environmental Health issued Armitage with a Remedial Action Notice (RAN), under the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
The notice re-enforced the voluntary closure of the site and prohibited the operation of the egg grading and packing unit and the supply of eggs for sale.
Subsequent inspections and welfare monitoring visits uncovered further issues and eventually there was a voluntary depopulation of the site on September 5, 2017.
Both Armitage and Mackay pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to approximately 2000 adult hens by failing to provide them with sufficient food and water, resulting in their deaths.
They also admitted to allowing pigs to gain access to the hens, which resulted in the animals attacking, killing and consuming some of the birds.
In a separate charge, Armitage also admitted failing to keep the premises clean and maintained in a good condition.
He failed to ensure that adequate procedures were followed to prevent pests and fed eggs and eggshells to pigs and allowed pigs and chickens to consume broken eggs.
The court heard that he also failed to take measures to meet the needs of approximately 6000 hens.
He failed to provide a suitable diet and environment and did not house them separately to other animals or protect them from suffering, injury and disease.
Mackay pleaded guilty to a further charge of failing to provide sufficient food and water to a calf which died.
At Wick Sheriff Court Sheriff Jo Platt told Armitage: “The narration of the facts was beyond troubling, it was horrifying and the nature of the offences is evidenced very clearly by the photographs which were taken.
“Together, they constituted a catalogue of horror and animal abuse. Such callous disregard for the welfare of the livestock for the care of which you were responsible, led to conditions of not merely of neglect but demonstrated to extreme cruelty as you starved livestock to death.”
Turning to Mackay, Sheriff Platt said that he had to consider different factors in his case.
The sheriff said that the accused’s first job with the egg operation, as a lad of 17, then, had proved to be “a disastrous decision at the very least”.
The sheriff added: “I hope it stands you in good stead for the future because it provides a stark lesson in how things must not be done” but also made the point: “You could have taken the action which one of your colleagues took and contacted the authorities.”