Suspended jail sentence for woman who failed to care for more than 130 animals
A woman from Surrey has been given a suspended sentence after more than 200 animals were removed by charities from a Surrey farm.
Christine Kelly, of Portsmouth Road, Ripley, was found guilty of 15 offences under the Animal Welfare Act after a trial over dates in June and August this year. The charges relate to more than 130 horses, as well as dogs, donkeys, poultry, and goats, although she claimed throughout the investigation that she was not responsible for all of the animals who were found on-site.
A warrant was completed by Surrey Police on January 9th 2019, linked with an RSPCA investigation into concerns of welfare for the horses at the site.
When the animals were rescued, herds of ponies were found to be riddled with worms, living in fields with broken fencing sticking up from the mud.
Donkeys, goats and ponies were also found standing in two barns on top of 2-3 foot of months worth of faeces and waste.
Many of the animals had untreated health conditions.
Several dogs, some heavily pregnant and with puppies were found tethered and chained o a yard whilst others were shut in cramped cages or makeshift kennels.
A total of 204 animals were discovered at the site. While three - two horses and one goat - were put to sleep at the scene, the rest were taken into charity care, including 129 horses and donkeys, 59 dogs, three alpacas, five goats, four chickens and one duck.
Some of the sickest animals received immediate veterinary care while others were taken for treatment nearby, and those that were considered fit to travel by on-site vets were transferred to Bransby Horses, Redwings, The Horse Trust, The Donkey Sanctuary, World Horse Welfare and RSPCA centres for care and rehabilitation.
Despite urgent treatment from vets, 14 horses died or were put to sleep on pet advice.
Christine Kelly was found guilty of failing to meet the needs of 131 equines.
She was also convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to a number of horses, dogs and goats.
RSPCA Special Operations Unit case officer Kirsty Withnall, who coordinated the huge rescue mission and led the investigation, said:
“We had no idea what the conditions would be like until we stepped through the gates but we had to have a plan in place that would allow us to remove a large number of animals on the day, although we hoped that wouldn’t be necessary. We had no idea what we’d find or what action would be taken until all of the animals had been assessed and we were shocked at the conditions these poor animals had been kept in.”
Tony Tyler, deputy chief executive of World Horse Welfare, said:
"World Horse Welfare was able to take 45 of the horses and many have now been rehabilitated and found loving new homes through our rehoming programme. Due to the protracted timescale of this prosecution, however, they had been at our centres for almost two years before we could ready them for rehoming. Now that the case is finally over, the future is brighter for the animals involved."