DR ANDREW SEMPLE AND SAMANTHA SEMPLE-THOMAS CONVICTED OF ANIMAL NEGLECT IN HOLBURY

Dr Andrew Semple, born August 1971, and Samantha Semple-Thomas, born circa 1973, of 9 The Saplings, Holbury SO45 2QP, were found guilty in 2025 of neglecting six emaciated donkeys.

The donkeys were discovered in muddy conditions up to their knees, with only moldy hay as food, after suffering neglect for around two months. The animals had minimal food and inadequate shelter.

One donkey had died from respiratory cardiac arrest and had been left decaying in the mud. Semple admitted to not informing his wife about the death because they were planning to attend a concert that day.

The remaining donkeys were underweight and appeared dull. Two of them were infested with lice, and others showed signs of mud fever, a condition causing sores on a donkey’s hooves.

Samantha Semple-Thomas, a nurse at Southampton General Hospital, adopted the animals, which were kept at The Old Barn in Beaulieu, approximately a 10-minute drive from their home.

Prosecutor Sarah Wheadon explained that the neglect began after Semple-Thomas sustained a back injury and experienced a family bereavement. Care of the donkeys was then handed over to Semple, who holds a PhD in Maths and works as a software engineer. However, he only visited the animals in the dark between January and March 2024.

Wheadon stated, “He only fed them donkey feed prepared by Mrs Semple once a day, if that, and was aware they had no hay.”

District Judge Anthony Callaway questioned, “How do you inspect donkeys if you go in the dark?”

During a farm visit on March 10, 2024, the RSPCA uncovered a pile of moldy hay under a tarpaulin and mud caked on the donkeys’ legs. The environment was described as "completely unsuitable," and it was estimated that the animals had suffered for at least eight weeks.

The couple voluntarily signed over ownership of the five surviving donkeys.

The court also noted that a rabbit and dog kept by the couple were in good health.

Both individuals pleaded guilty to two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

Sentencing included an 18-month community order, 120 hours of unpaid work, and each was ordered to pay £2,500 in costs. Additionally, they are banned from owning equines for five years, a ban set to expire in May 2030.

Source: South West Farmer Daily Echo.