Farmer jailed for keeping 450 animals 'in squalor'

More than half of the 59 horses and donkeys seized were in poor condition, the RSPCA said

A farmer has been jailed after hundreds of animals were found ill and uncared for on his property.

The case came to light in 2023 when police and animal charity Beauty's Legacy followed up concerns about conditions at a farm near Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.

Organisations including the RSPCA seized 455 animals of 19 different species, including about 70 horses and donkeys, more than 50 dogs and puppies, more than 170 guinea pigs, and one llama.

At Mansfield Magistrates' Court, Lee Hayes, 52, of Croftfield Farm in Dawgates Lane, Skegby, admitted 25 offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and was handed a 12-month prison sentence.

Several dogs were found to be dirty and ill, with a cocker spaniel needing surgery

Charges included failing to protect animals from pain, injury, disease, failing to provide adequate shelter and nutrition and failing to provide adequate veterinary care.

Hayes was also given a lifetime ban on keeping animals in court on Thursday.

The RSPCA said the rescue, named Operation Teal, was one of the largest it had dealt with.

Officers were helped by more than 100 staff from seven other animal charities.

Hayes had said conditions at the farm had "all got a little out of hand", the RSPCA said, but the court heard the defendant had previously ignored advice to make welfare improvements.

Animal officers said among the most severely neglected animals was an elderly German shepherd dog, tethered to a small kennel and struggling to walk due to arthritis, which had to be put down.

A cocker spaniel was found to need hernia surgery and a number of puppies were caked in faeces and with urine scalds to their pads.

Ferrets and rabbits were found living in dirty, maggot-strewn cages and enclosures

Donkeys and horses were found to be suffering from rotting feet, were underweight, and had not received any treatment for parasites and proper dental care. One donkey had to be put down.

The floors of barns and enclosures were deep in faeces and mouldy forage, leaving the animals "in squalor", the RSPCA said.

Inspector Laura Baker said: "The conditions we found all these animals living in were absolutely appalling.

"The smell of manure hit as soon as you walked through the gate and the sheer volume of animals in dire circumstances was quite overwhelming."

"There were few signs any kind of animal husbandry had taken place," she added.

"Many of the dogs for example were suffering from easily treatable conditions and the lack of veterinary care demonstrated the total disregard the defendant took to the animals' welfare."

The RSPCA said it would seek to reclaim hundreds of thousands of pounds in costs

Hayes signed over a large number of the animals to the RSPCA, but the charity said it needed to obtain a court order to remove the farmer's stock of equines and farm animals.

The defendant's girlfriend, Tammy Heath, 33, of Moorland Close in Skegby, pleaded guilty to two animal welfare offences relating to failing to meet the needs of two dogs.

At the same hearing, she received a 13-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

She was banned from keeping canines for five years and will have to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.