Rescued: Pinocchio, left, has now recovered at a horse sanctuary after neglect at Spindle Farm









Horse trader convicted of mistreating 140 horses, ponies and donkeys in Britain's worst cruelty case
08th May 2009

Five people were found guilty today of neglecting more than 100 horses, ponies and donkeys in Britain's worst case of animal cruelty.

The animals were left to die of starvation in a 'horror scene' surrounded by rotting corpses in what experienced vets described as the worst case of animal cruelty they had ever seen.

RSPCA officers found severely emaciated animals cooped up in pens alongside rotting carcasses when they raided Spindle Farm at Hyde Heath in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, in January last year.

Neglected: The body of one of the Gray family's donkeys found by RSPCA inspectors

Horse trader Jamie Gray outside Bicester Crown Court, where he was today found guilty on 11 charges under the Animal Welfare Act 2006

Today horse trader Jamie Gray, 45, and his son James, 16, were found guilty of 11 charges under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. A court order banning the naming of the 16-year-old was lifted.

His wife Julie, 41, and daughters Jodie, 26, and Cordelia, 20, were each found guilty of two charges under the same act.

Bicester Magistrates Court heard many of the 140 animals at the farm had been left with scant food and were so malnourished that they could not stand.

During the raid on January 4 last year they were discovered collapsed in the faeces of other horses. 

RSPCA chief inspector Rob Skinner said of one pony: 'When we rolled it over we could then see a large area on its side where it had been lying against a water trough. This area was hairless, pink and sore looking.'

It was among four animals that had to be put down immediately, also including a mare with a severe eye infection and chronic diarrhoea.

In total 115 animals were taken to horse sanctuaries around the country to be urgently treated for salmonella poisoning, abscesses and other health problems.

Mr Skinner said he also found 32 carcasses in different spots - some burnt and dumped on a bonfire but others simply left on the ground and covered in rubbish.

Ghastly evidence: A horse carcass left to rot under tree branches and rubbish at Spindle Farm in Amersham, Buckinghamshire

Horse skulls left in a heap on the horror farm, where vets were overwhelmed by the stench of rotting flesh

Discovery: An aerial photograph shows the RSPCA rounding up the abused animals at Spindle Farm in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, last year

Some had been dead for days, others for months.

Witness Helen Evans saw the horse trader drag a horse to a trailer using a rope tied around its neck and tail as it winced in agony. The RSPCA found one dead horse on the back of a trailer with ropes around its tail.

Hooves and body parts were scattered about the farm and in one place bones and skulls had been heaped up in a mound.

'The smell of rotting flesh was overpowering,' according to vet Katherine Robinson.

Recovery: Spindle Farm colts run happily at a sanctuary after treatment and rehabilitation

The RSPCA were at the farm for days and at times 45-year-old Gray became aggressive towards inspectors, bellowing abuse and threatening to let loose his rottweiler on them.

Gray told the court it was common for horses to 'drop down dead' and said some animals found on his land had died without warning or displaying any sign of illness.

He said some corpses had been 'family pets' which he was waiting to bury.








Article: HERE