A farmer has been sentenced to 23 months in jail for multiple counts of cruelty to animals on his farm near Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny.
Simon O'Dwyer, 64, had pleaded guilty to four counts of cruelty to animals and three counts of failing to dispose of carcasses on lands farmed by him last year.
O'Dwyer was sentenced at Kilkenny District Court today.
He is already serving a four months sentence for related offences, but with today's offences to run concurrently, and with time he already served in prison on remand, O'Dwyer will serve a total of ten months.
He is also banned for life from owning any kind of animal.
Judge William Harnett described it as an appalling case, and Barbara Bent of the ISPCA said it was one of the worst cases of cruelty to horses she has seen in her 42 years working in the area.
