A mother and daughter have been banned from keeping equines following a prosecution brought by the RSPCA.
Lorraine Porter, 62, and her daughter Toyah Potter, 20, pleaded guilty to four animal welfare offences and were sentenced at York Magistrates Court on 8 October.
“There was no sign of any food or water available to the animals, and one of the ponies had broken through into an area where there were corrugated metal sheets and other hazardous items,” said RSPCA Claire Mitchell, who investigated the case after assistance was requested by World Horse Welfare in March 2020.
“That pony had its head in a bag of food and appeared to be very hungry.
“There were also other hazards in the field, such as car batteries, a saw and pieces of wood,” she continued. “All of the horses had rugs on so it was not possible to assess their body conditions, but some of them looked thin even with the rugs on.
“The paddock was completely poached of grazing and all of the horses appeared to be very hungry and were following us around.”
The police seized six animals and passed them into the RSPCA’s care. Four were deemed to be in a suffering state by a vet attending the scene; three were suffering from lice infestations and one from a lack of dental care.
A bay gelding called Ronin, a black mare called Maggie May, a piebald mare called Missy and an elderly bay gelding called Corrie were all thin.
Corrie, Ronin and a small piebald foal called Bracken, aged around six to nine months, were all suffering from lice infestations.
Corrie was also suffering from a lack of dental care and Star, a piebald yearling filly, did not have her needs met.
A statement from the RSPCA said the horses were all given water before being loaded onto a horsebox and taken to a place of safety at a private boarding establishment.
Threats and intimidation
In court, mitigation was put forward that both defendants loved horses and they had found it distressing to accept that they had let these horses down. It was also said they had received threats and intimidation on social media.
In passing sentence, magistrates said to Lorraine Potter: “This sentence is imposed as a direct alternative to custody. The lack of care afforded to these animals was such that we are satisfied there was a prolonged level of neglect…These animals were neglected very badly at your hands.”
In addressing Toyah Potter, they said: “We have been told that you are an animal lover. That may be the case but your emotional attachment to animals does not allow you to ignore their clear welfare needs.”
Lorraine Potter was given a lifetime ban on keeping equines, donkeys and mules and their hybrids, which cannot be contested for ten years.
In addition, she was sentenced to a 12-month community order, including up to 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, an electronically-monitored 16-week curfew and a £90 victim surcharge.
Her daughter Toyah was given a five-year ban on keeping equines which cannot be contested for three years, as well as a 12-month conditional discharge and a £21 victim surcharge.
Both were ordered to pay £700 costs.
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