CEREDIGION FARMER BANNED FROM KEEPING ANIMALS FOR FIVE YEARS AFTER WELFARE OFFENCES
A farmer and pet shop owner named Steven Harty, aged 57, of Aberarth near Aberaeron in Ceredigion, has been given a five-year ban from keeping animals after being convicted on 39 welfare offences.He was also ordered to perform 225 hours of community service and pay £11,240 in court costs.
Harty was found guilty of multiple charges involving 25 birds and a Shetland pony.
The convictions were finalized last week, with sentencing occurring at Aberystwyth Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
The offences involved breaches of the Wildlife and Countryside Act along with the Animal Welfare Act.
The RSPCA, which prosecuted the case, reported that their inspectors, accompanied by a veterinarian and police, discovered numerous birds in poor condition, confined in cramped and squalid aviaries on Harty’s property on 12 February, 2009.
The animals included nine zebra finches, two hornbills, and two rainbow lorikeets, besides a black Shetland pony with spiralling hooves.
RSPCA inspector Richard Abbott stated: "The defendant kept these animals in appalling conditions and showed a flagrant disregard for their welfare."
