Warwickshire farmer prosecuted for causing unnecessary suffering to a cow

A Warwickshire farmer who caused unnecessary suffering to a cow has been successfully prosecuted by Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards Service.

Following a complaint about the condition of cattle grazing on land in Hunningham near Leamington, Trading Standards animal health officers and a veterinary officer from The Animal Plant Health Agency visited in February 2019.

The cattle were owned by Mr Ewan Wells, a tenant farmer residing on a farm on Main Street, Hunningham.

On arrival officers discovered a cow lying down in the mud in a field and unable to stand.

The cow was very thin and was shivering and hypothermic.

The disturbance of the earth around her indicated that she had tried to get up but had not been able to stand.

The animal was euthanised on the farm on the advice of a vet.

A post mortem indicated she had been suffering from impaction of the stomachs caused by eating only very dry straw, which without supplementation with a high quality protein is an unsuitable diet.

In a nearby enclosure amongst live animals, officers found five cattle carcasses that had been there for some time.

Officers also found that Mr Wells had failed to properly record the date of death of some cattle, information that is important to help prevent the spread of animal diseases such as Bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE (Mad Cow Disease) and Foot and Mouth.

Warwickshire County Councillor Andy Crump, portfolio holder for community safety said: “Warwickshire has a large farming community and Trading Standards works closely with them to ensure livestock is healthy, disease risks are reduced and the human food chain is protected.”

“The vast majority of farmers are very happy to follow the advice and guidance we provide, but in the small number of instances where the health of livestock and human health is put at risk, it’s important that we take firm action.”

At Coventry Magistrates Court on November 19, Mr Ewan Wells (aged 62) was fined £1,684 and ordered to pay a £168 victim surcharge and £4,000 contribution toward prosecution costs.

He had pleaded guilty at an earlier court hearings to two offences under The Animal By Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013, and four offences the Cattle Identification Regulations 2007 and had been found guilty after a trial of one offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Magistrates stated that if Mr Wells were to be found guilty again he would almost certainly face a banning order.

In mitigation, Mr Lee Marklew representing Mr Wells stated that his client had been a farmer since 1978 and had smartened up his act.