MAN JAILED FOR 'IMMENSE' CRUELTY TO HORSES AND PONIES
A man has been jailed for "immense" animal cruelty after 18 malnourished horses and ponies were discovered in sheds without food or water.Police found the animals at sites in Bromyard, Herefordshire, and Bringsty, Worcestershire, in July of the previous year.
Two of them had to be euthanized due to their condition.
Mark Hall, aged 46 and from Bringsty, pleaded guilty at Hereford Crown Court to severely neglecting horses and ponies.
He was sentenced to serve 23 weeks in prison and was ordered to pay more than £14,000 in costs.
Owen Beale from the Crown Prosecution Service stated: "Mark Hall inflicted immense cruelty and unnecessary suffering to animals to which he owed a duty of care." When questioned, Hall claimed that the animals suffered from respiratory infections and salmonella, but there was no proof that he administered any medication or sought veterinary help for them.
The remaining 16 horses and ponies were taken to the Bransby Rest Home for Horses near Leominster, where they have been rehabilitated.
During the process, one horse with an untreated injury had to be euthanized, along with another that collapsed the day after arriving at the sanctuary.
Hall faced additional charges for causing unnecessary suffering to protected animals and failing to ensure their welfare.
He was banned from dealing with horses, sheep, cattle, or pigs, and from transporting or owning them for fifteen years.
Furthermore, he was ordered to reimburse the rest home for veterinary expenses totaling £13,571.51 and to pay prosecution costs of £1,800.
