A Co Meath man who is employed by nine local authorities to look after seized animals has been sentenced to 16 months imprisonment today on charges of animal cruelty.
Sentencing Joseph Moran of Cloneymeath, Summerhill, Judge Patrick McMahon said he was surprised to hear that the defendant still had contracts with local authorities.
"This person is totally unfit to deal with any form of animal and it would be my wish that he is banned for life from keeping horses," the judge declared at Trim District Court.
Christopher O'Brien Lynch, a veterinary inspector with the Department of Agriculture, told the court that after concerns were raised with him, he visited the fields where Moran was keeping horses. He had contracts with nine authorities where he would collect and care for seized animals.
The witness said he found one small horse that had its ribs protruding from its body. It was unable to stand and barely able to keep its head off the ground.
The animal was deeply stressed and on a scale of zero to five - where five would be overweight and zero would be skeletal - Mr O'Brien Lynch said this horse was 0.5. He euthanised the horse straightaway.
Another horse was in exactly the same condition nearby. That too was euthanised immediately to end its suffering.
The defendant was there at the time and he acknowledged that the animals had not had any water since they arrived at his farm three days earlier. The vet said the defendant had unnecessarily prolonged the suffering of the animals.
As he inspected the other fields in the farm, Mr O'Brien Lynch said he discovered several decomposed horse or donkey remains. Some had been there for many months rotting away.
There were 19 other horses on the farm and the vet said he was entirely satisfied with their condition. The court was also told that there was an issue with the quality of the feed being given to animals in the stables, but that had been resolved.
Mr O'Brien Lynch said the defendant was a contractor paid to collect and care for vulnerable or neglected animals on behalf of the State and everything should have been "top class". He said these animals had suffered "institutional abuse”.
He acknowledged that Moran was very co-operative and helpful during the investigation and on subsequent inspections.
Counsel for the defendant, Shane Patrick Murray, said his client was pleading guilty to the charges. The vast majority of animals on the farm were in very good condition and these offences were a "black spot" on his work.
His client had and continued to provide free help to charities like the DSPCA and the ISPCA. He employed three other people and if he was to have a conviction recorded against him it could mean the loss of his contracts with nine local authorities and the closure of his business, Mr Murray said.
However, Judge McMahon sentenced him to a total of 16 months in prison, although he fixed recognisances in the event of an appeal.
