Ban for owner after horse found collapsed
A woman who starved her horse to the point of collapse has been banned by a court from keeping animals for five years.
Jacqueline Wilson was also handed a suspended prison sentence after her red roan cob, named Duchess, was spotted by a member of the public keeled over on her side in a field in Coulter Lane, Burntwood.
The 50-year-old, of Norton Canes, near Cannock, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the horse in a prosecution brought by the RSPCA animal charity.
Magistrates heard that after the passer-by had tried unsuccessfully to get the horse on to its feet, the RSPCA and a veterinary surgeon were contacted.
On arrival, the vet found Duchess to be severely emaciated. Despite weeks of care by animal welfare officers, the horse had to be put down, the court heard.
RSPCA inspector Kate Levesley, who also attended the scene, described the animal as extremely skinny and clearly looked to be in pain.
She said: “Duchess was really struggling to get up as she was so weak. The vet took one look at her and said she needed to get to the surgery as she was so poorly. She was so ill that at first look you would have thought she wasn’t alive."
The officer said that the horse's condition was so serious, the vet quickly confirmed she was suffering which meant the police were able to seize her.
At the veterinary practice, the animal was diagnosed with a stomach infection which had been left untreated for a considerable time, leaving her unable to recover.
Inspector Levesley said: "There was also no food, grazing or water for Duchess on the field, nor was there any shelter. As soon as she was offered food and water she immediately ate and drank it as she had been without it for some time.”
Magistrates were told it was thought that the horse had lain collapsed for at least 24 hours before being spotted. The vet concluded she had been suffering for several weeks, and possibly months.
The horse was under veterinary care for a month without improvement before being put down.
In mitigation at North Stafford Magistrates Court, it was said that Wilson, of Chapel Street, Norton Canes, visited Duchess every day and that she helped care for family members.
As well as the five-year ban on keeping animals, she was given a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered to carry out 40 hours of unpaid work.
