An 80-year-old woman has appeared in court after 11 donkeys and one pony were found with overgrown hooves and covered in lice at a small holding In Pembrokeshire. Elizabeth Palmer, of Llethyr-Uchaf, Crymych, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act, at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court.
The RSPCA said the animals were found in a poor environment and many had overgrown hooves and “there were concerns for their body conditions” after an inspection at the premises in Mynachlogddu, Crymych.
The offences were that Palmer caused unnecessary suffering to 11 donkeys and a pony by failing to provide adequate and appropriate farrier care and she failed to take such steps that were reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure their needs were met. She was sentenced to 16 weeks custody suspended for 12 months and was handed a 10 year ban on keeping any animals, with the exception of cats and dogs. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here
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She was ordered to pay £400 costs and a £154 victim surcharge and there was a court order made for the RSPCA to return in 21 days to remove any other animals that remained on site other than cats and dogs.
The animals had overgrown hooves -Credit:RSPCA
-Credit:RSPCA
In a witness statement provided to the court from the investigating RSPCA Inspector, he said he was requested by a Donkey Welfare Adviser from The Donkey Sanctuary to attend the smallholding in March. The inspector attended along with an equine vet and two welfare officers from The Donkey Sanctuary. He said: “I was shown two donkeys in a field and it was obvious that both donkeys’ hooves were very overgrown and one of the donkeys had hair loss on its right hand side.” He said their owner arrived who said she had been waiting for a farrier to attend but they kept letting her down.
Following an examination by the equine vet, the inspector was informed that these two donkeys had overgrown hooves, were of poor body condition, were invested with lice and that, in the vet’s opinion, had been caused unnecessary suffering by a failure to address these issues. He added that there was a shelter in the field with water present in buckets and some grazing. They were also shown to an open fronted barn that contained nine donkeys and a pony.
The inspector said: “Conditions in the barn were very poor with no clean dry laying area, no mental stimulation, very deep soiled bedding which was wet and the equines were struggling to walk through it. Many of the donkeys and the pony had overgrown hooves and several seemed to be in a poor body condition.”
He noted that the pony was partially in a poor condition and the Inspector was informed that it had been dumped on the owner’s land before Christmas, 2023. He was also told that none of the animals had seen a vet recently. The vet said that all of the donkeys needed to be removed as all had been caused unnecessary suffering due to overgrown hooves, lice, dermatitis, and poor body condition.
A consent form for this was signed by the owner who also signed the animals across to the RSPCA. Eight of the rescued donkeys – Angel, Coco, Jack, Jane, Jenny, Toffee, Rosie and Paris – are now living in a group at The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon where they have settled in very well.
The donkeys are now being looked after at a special sanctuary -Credit:Donkey Sanctuary
Sadly, two of the donkeys had to be euthanised due to ill health and another was not fit to travel so is living in a group with similar needs at another of the charity’s facilities.
Kia Thomas, donkey welfare adviser at The Donkey Sanctuary, who was present at the original visit in March, said: “When I saw the donkeys recently, I was absolutely delighted to see how different they looked from when we picked them up. I had not seen the group since March – and it was wonderful to see them in much better health after receiving the medical care they needed and deserved.”
Following sentencing, an RSPCA spokesperson said: “We would very much like to thank The Donkey Sanctuary along with the equine vet and local horse expert who attended for their expertise and assistance. This was a very sad case where if veterinary care and the appropriate farrier care had been given these equines would not have suffered.”