Rotherham inspectors help in prosecution of animal transport company
Scales of Justice
Animal health inspectors from Rotherham helped secure the prosecution of a haulage company for ill treatment of calves.
Doncaster Magistrates fined haulier Dermot Conroy of Dermot Conroy Livestock Haulage Ltd., of Dungannon, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, a total of £8,000 plus £1,605.42 costs and a victim surcharge of £15, after he pleaded guilty to four charges under The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006.
The court heard how a vehicle containing 147 calves was stopped on the A1 at Sprotbrough during Operation Mermaid, one of a series of regular one-day operations organised by South Yorkshire Police in partnership with the four South Yorkshire authorities, including Rotherham.
When the vehicle was stopped it was found the calves were too young to travel, with insufficient feed, water and rest periods provided for the journey from Barcelona in northern Spain to Ireland.
The animals were moved to a staging post north of Doncaster where suitable feed and water was provided. The animals rested for 24 hours before being allowed to continue to Ireland.
In mitigation, the company claimed that driver Colm Hanratty, was a ‘stand in’ and that he should have filled in the journey log.
At an earlier hearing on February 18, Hanratty of Armagh, Northern Ireland, was also fined £1,600 and ordered to pay costs of £1,605.40 together with a victim surcharge of £15, after pleading to the same four offences.
Swinton Councillor Ken Wyatt, Rotherham Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said: “Animal welfare has been under the spotlight recently and this case reassuringly highlights how important it is to prevent animal mistreatment and the important work that our officers do on a day-to-day basis. “Officers from the authority were an integral part of this particular operation and their actions and the subsequent court cases have hopefully given a warning to all companies who transport livestock through South Yorkshire that poor animal welfare will not be condoned.”
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Wednesday 19 June 2013
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