A FARMER from Dalton has been jailed after pleading guilty at Furness Magistrates' Court to five charges relating to animal welfare. 

William Gordon Parker Junior, aged 34, of Greenhills House, Dalton, pleaded guilty to five offences of causing unnecessary suffering to cattle under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. 

The defendant was sentenced to eight weeks in jail for each of the five offences, all to run concurrently, and disqualified from keeping all animals for a period of four years. 

The court heard that during an investigation resulting from the discovery of 20 dead cattle on the farm in July 2014, Cumbria County Council Trading Standards animal health officers carried out a full inspection of the cattle belonging to ME Parker and Sons, assisted by the Rural Payments Agency Inspectorate and vets from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). 

During that inspection carried out in early August 2014 they discovered five bulls aged between one and two years old which had been subjected to illegal DIY castration attempts without anaesthetic using a burdizzo type method, causing unnecessary suffering, swelling and extreme pain to the animals under Parker’s care and control. 

Passing sentence, District Judge Chalk told the defendant he had caused unnecessary pain to the five animals and this was a breach of his duty of care. 

Councillor John McCreesh, Cumbria County Council Cabinet member responsible for Trading Standards, said: “The legislation is in place to ensure that animals receive appropriate care and all those keeping animals have a legal duty to ensure they provide for the welfare of their animals. Whilst the majority of farmers in Cumbria comply with their responsibilities, unfortunately, a minority do not. We place a high priority on protecting the welfare of the county’s livestock and will continue to take action where it is clearly in the interests of the animals and the reputation of the farming industry to do so.” 

Cattle over two months of age must only be castrated under anaesthetic by a veterinary surgeon. In court an APHA vet confirmed that, as well as being illegal, the method used was unreliable in cattle of that age and had been unsuccessful in some of them.

· On 8 October 2015 at Lancaster Crown Court the partnership ME Parker and Sons of Greenhills Farm, Dalton in Furness was convicted of various offences relating to cattle identification, disposal of carcases and animal welfare, with William Parker Jnr sentenced to 16 months in prison.

· The concurrent 8 week sentences handed down for the five cattle are also to run concurrently with his existing custody.

· The partnership was fined a total of £44,000 with an additional £20,262 in prosecution costs, at the October hearing.

· A disqualification order is made under Section 34(2) of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which states: Disqualification under this subsection disqualifies a person

(a) from owning animals,

(b) from keeping animals,

(c) from participating in the keeping of animals, and

(d) from being party to an arrangement under which he is entitled to control or influence the way in which animals are kept.