Yaxley: Man Jailed After Leaving Sick Pony

16 January 2014, 15:35 | Updated: 16 January 2014, 15:44

A Suffolk man who left a sick pony collapsed on the ground for a week has been jailed for 23 weeks by Ipswich Magistrates’ Court and given a life ban on all animals.

The court heard that Quentin Ship, who is 72, of Hall Lane in Yaxley, had left the 18 month old male piebald colt, who was emaciated and infested with worms, lying out in the open for three days at the beginning of February last year before dragging him into an open shelter a few yards from his kitchen window.

RSPCA inspector Nicola Thorne told the court that she had received a call from a member of the public who had seen the sick pony lying in the field and was worried that it had now been taken out of sight.

When she arrived at the property, no one was there so she called a vet who asked for a second opinion from another vet and it was decided that the pony, called Whiskey, was suffering so much he should be put to sleep to end his suffering.

Inspector Thorne said: “The most disturbing aspect of this case is that Mr Ship could see this poor animal every day from the house and never thought to call a vet.

“He was already banned for life from keeping livestock.”

Ship pleaded guilty to one charge of causing unnecessary suffering and two of failing to address the cause of Whiskey’s weight loss and poor body condition and failing to provide adequate treatment for his worm infection.

The judge said the degree of suffering caused to the pony, along with Ship’s previous history of maltreating animals, meant he would be disqualified from owning any animals for life.