A West Dorset dairy farm has pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a cow and a calf by failing to care for them, along with a series of other offences relating to conditions on their farm.
Ireosa Ltd, who operate Higher Kingston Russell Farm near Winterborne Abbas, appeared at Poole Magistrates Court for sentencing on 20 September 2022, having pleaded guilty to seven offences at an earlier hearing. These offences were against animal health and welfare, animal by-products and feed legislation, and were brought to court following an investigation by Dorset Council Trading Standards.
They were fined a total of £52,650 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £6,186.
The court heard how officers visited the farm in April 2021, together with a vet from the Animal and Plant Health Agency. They found three calves that were clearly sick and emaciated; dirty pens, water troughs and feeding equipment, and a cow with a badly injured front leg that had not received veterinary treatment for three months. They also had to free a calf trapped in wire that had been left in a field with livestock. Various cattle bones and a skull were found dotted around the farm as well as dead calves in pens with live cattle.
The court was told that officers from the Council’s trading standards service had been visiting the farm for over six years with the aim of ensuring that welfare standards were improved. As a result of their visit in April 2021, the farm had lost its Red Tractor accreditation for a minimum period of two years.
Cllr Laura Beddow, Dorset Council Portfolio Holder for Customer and Community Services, said:
“Our Trading Standards team work with livestock keepers to improve the welfare of their animals, but when advice and basic animal husbandry is ignored, formal action can and does follow.
“All livestock keepers have a clear responsibility to ensure conditions they keep animals in, and the care they are given, is adequate. Where there is evidence of unnecessary suffering we will intervene and consider formal enforcement action.”
For health and welfare advice on keeping farmed animals or to report an animal welfare problem Dorset residents can call the Trading Standards animal health line on 01305 224475, or email tradingstandards@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
in such circumstances i think the farmer should be stopped from keeping any animals at all now and in the future. Full stop.
Excellent work by Trading Standards
Why take 6 years to realise that the farmer was not going to improve? Action should have been taken much earlier. In the meantime animals continued to suffer
A fine is ok but you still have these people in charge of the farm. They are either incompetent or sadistic. Either way they should be removed,given a criminal record and banned from keeping or managing any form of animal.
Are we to assume that the people responsible for this neglect have been banned from anything to do with livestock?
Have sanctions been imposed on the officers of Ireosa Ltd. as the accountable people under the Companies Act 2006? According to Companies House records the directors are Robert and Helen Honeybun, aged 62 and 81 respectively.
Why were the directors’ names omitted from the reporting?
I think action should have been taken well before the six years, it is appalling, two years is more than adequate and a Red Tractor accreditation should be removed permanently until they can clearly pass the required standards. What happens to the farm and livestock now?
This is not good enough. They definitely should not be allowed to keep livestock ever again. I am horrified they were given so much time before action was taken.
I am absolutely appalled. I have driven past this hell hole many times! These people have made so much money out of suffering and he will find this 52k quite easily! Red tractor is a meaningless title, it just fools people into thinking they are buying a kinder option. Ditch dairy!! How on earth can this farm continue????