50-year animal ban for cruelty case farmer
Charles Amery, 37, of Kelly Farm, has been fined and banned from keeping livestock after admitting a total of 17 separate offences relating to the welfare of livestock.
Magistrates decided not to send him to jail after his solicitor argued he had become overwhelmed while trying to keep the farm running unsupervised.
Justices sitting at Newton Abbot imposed the 50-year ban on keeping livestock and ordered him to carry out a 300-hour community order, including 200 hours of unpaid work.
They also imposed an order to pay £1,000 costs.
Amery appeared before magistrates yesterday.
At a previous hearing in May, he pleaded guilty to the 17 offences dating back to July and August last year.
They involved 13 charges of causing unnecessary suffering to sheep, three of failing to ensure the safety of livestock and one of not supplying an adequate supply of fresh water to livestock.
Each offence carries a maximum sentence up to 51 weeks in jail and/or a fine of up to £20,000.
The 76-hectare farm is owned by Amery's 73-year-old widowed mother Mary Amery.
Amery who suffers from dyslexia, and his brother Justin work there.
Mrs Amery had originally been charged with identical offences as her son but they were withdrawn before the previous court hearing in May.
That hearing also heard the animals' condition was discovered after police were called in when three of the Amerys' bulls escaped from a field and got on to the A382 Bovey Tracey to Moretonhampstead road on July 31 last year.
During four separate visits, vets found poorly sheep which were examined before some were put down.
The animals had raw, open lesions, probably caused by fliestrike, which had been left untreated and contained maggots. Some animals were so lame they could barely walk.
Yesterday, the hearing was told Mrs Amery had badly broken her ankle and had to spend a month in hospital and Amery was left to run the farm himself.
He also had to make sure his mother's house was adapted so she could live at home while recovering from the injury.
John Smith, in mitigation, said: “Charles was spending a lot of time at hospital, getting her ready so she could return home and he had to make arrangements for her home to be kitted out downstairs.
“That seems to be one of the reasons why the situation deteriorated to the extent that it did.”
He argued Amery's limited intellect meant he worked better when following instructions and was unable to cope without them, adding: “With his mother not around to oversee him, he did his best but it was his inadequate best.
“He was experiencing difficulty in trying to look after his mother and himself and was not getting much help from other members of the family.”
He also said only 13 sheep out of a flock of up to 130 were found to be suffering which was 'just 10 per cent of the total flock', he told the court.
Chairman of the bench, Mary Calderwood, told Amery they had given the matter 'a great deal of consideration' but had decided to imposed the community order and financial penalty.
She ordered the remaining cattle be seized and taken into care.
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