A Derry farmer was jailed this afternoon for animal cruelty.
Gregory Boyd, Gortahar Road, Rasharkin, Ballymena, Co Antrim, was sentenced at Londonderry Magistrates’ Court on 21 June 2013 of one charge under the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Regulations (NI) 2006. Mr Boyd had previously pleaded guilty on this charge.
Mr Boyd was fined £400 sterling plus £30 sterling costs.
This case involved the transport by the farmer of two cows over 30 miles to Foyle Meats abattoir where on arrival the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) veterinary officer found that one cow had a chronically infected, deformed left hind foot and had possible hip enlargement and abscessation of both hips.
“The animal was bearing minimal weight on the left hind leg. The hock and both hips of this carcase was condemned as being unfit for human consumption. The other cow was thin and had a chronically infected, swollen and painful right hind foot on which it was bearing minimal weight. The carcase of this animal was condemned as being unfit for human consumption,” a statement from DARD reads.
In the opinion of the official veterinarian at Foyle Meats, the transportation by the farmer of these two animals from Ballymena to Foyle Meats caused them further unnecessary suffering.