Defence starts in Spindles Farm cruelty case (From Bucks Free Press)

Defence starts in Spindles Farm cruelty case

5:28pm Thursday 26th February 2009 in Search By Andy Carswell

A HORSE trader accused of animal cruelty told a court today none of the animals found dead at his farm had shown signs of being “depressed or ill” before their deaths.

James Gray, the owner of Spindles Farm in Chalk Lane, Hyde Heath, said he had never experienced a loss of animals like the one he had before an RSPCA inspection of the farm in January last year.

The 44-year-old said he had sole responsibility for the welfare of the horses, donkeys and ponies – and told Bicester Magistrates' Court two of his co-accused are “frightened” of the animals.

More than 30 equines were found dead at the farm by inspectors on January 4 2008.

Gray told the court he dealt with an average of between 2,300 and 2,400 horses a year. Of these, “nine or ten” would die, he said.

And he denied it had ever been suggested to him that any of the animals at his property were being caused “unnecessary suffering” due to him failing to provide a “nutritional, balanced diet” or because the animals were suffering from disease or injury.

When asked by his defence barrister, Mike Fullerton, about some of the horses found dead at the farm, Gray said none of them had shown signs of being depressed or ill.

He told the court he was concerned one of them appeared to have a lump in its throat and consulted a vet, who advised him no treatment was necessary.

One of the horses was found dead on the morning of the RSPCA inspection having died overnight, he said, with another dying in transit on the way to Spindles Farm from land he was leasing in Vache Lane, Chalfont St Giles.

Gray told the court he ran the business by himself after setting up a limited company, Gray's Horses Limited.

He said he was the sole proprietor and shareholder of the company.

Mr Fullerton asked Gray how the farm was run before the limited company was set up. He replied: “It was run by me. I ran it on my own.”

He told the court he was responsible for buying animals and their feed, and he also made arrangements to either collect them himself or have someone else transport them to him.

Gray said a friend would come to the farm to feed the horses, ponies and donkeys when he was away, adding he was never usually away for more than two days – even when he went to Europe to buy animals.

If any animals became ill while he was away, Gray would arrange for a vet to be sent for, he told the court.

Gray said the animals would be fed twice a day, first thing in the morning and in the early evening.

Mr Fullerton asked: “Did you consider all the animals in the pens were able to receive adequate feed from what was placed out?” Gray said they were.

He said he used a piece of machinery called a 'skid trailer' to load bales of hay into pens in order to feed the animals.

On the day of the RSPCA inspection the skid trailer was broken – but he told the court he was on his way out to collect a new part for it when RSPCA staff arrived at the farm.

He said he also used a wheelbarrow to move hay bales around – despite it only having one handle. He said this did not affect his ability to use it.

Gray said he built an extra pen in one of the barns at the farm on January 2 2008 to put donkeys in to protect them from poor weather.

He said: “The donkeys were free in the field and the weather was very wet. They needed shelter so I brought them in.”

Straw bedding was changed “every two or three days”, he said, adding he believed the animals had a dry area to lie down in.

He admitted he had had difficulty in providing this in January 2008 because of the wet weather.

Gray told the court: “The straw was wet because of the rain and the open-fronted barn. It was damp due to the rain blowing in – as you went to the back of the barn it was dry.”

He said the barns were open to get machinery inside to feed the animals.

Gray was asked about allegations of overcrowding in the pens.

He said the new pen for the donkeys was a temporary one, and some of them would be moved once horses in some of the other pens had been transported elsewhere.

He was asked to explain why many of the horses did not have shoes. He said: “A lot of them I buy without shoes. I pulled them off others so they wouldn't kick each other.”

Mr Fullerton asked Gray what role the other defendants in the case had in the running of the farm.

He said that a teenage boy who cannot be named for legal reasons would often accompany him on trips abroad to collect animals.

But he added: “I did all the work – he didn't drive tractors or machinery.”

Gray said his wife Julie, 41, lived at the farm but “had no role in the business” - adding she was “frightened of horses”.

Eldest daughter Jodie, 26, of Park Road, Ashford, Middlesex, never lived at Spindles Farm and also had no role in operating the business, he told the court. He added she was also scared of horses.

Gray said his other daughter, 20-year-old Cordelia, of Spindles Farm, also did not help in looking after the animals.

Mr Fullerton asked Gray if any of his co-accused had a right to sell any of the animals. He said they did not.

The five defendants each deny twelve charges of causing unnecessary suffering under the Animal Welfare Act. The trial continues.