A man is banned from owning equines for a decade after a dead Shetland pony was found with a chain around its neck in Wales.
The RSPCA learned about two ponies on land near Carmarthen. People thought the ponies needed help, and an RSPCA inspector came on June 18. He found one pony dead, a thin, grey Shetland pony with hair loss and a chain around its neck. The chain was not attached to anything.
Another pony was nearby, a skewbald Shetland with a skin problem. This pony was also very thin, its spine and ribs showing easily. Someone sprayed the pony with purple liquid and tied it to a tree; a bucket of water sat close by, placed there by someone other than the owner.
Stephen Griffiths, age 62, lived nearby. He said the dead pony lay there for days because his tractor broke down and he could not move the body. Griffiths said he had the ponies for months, claiming he rescued one.
A vet examined the living pony and said it was in poor shape with limited access to food and infested with lice. The vet scored the pony’s body condition 0.5 out of five. The pony has since been treated and now has a new home, while the dead pony also scored 0.5. The vet found that the dead pony had been dead for days, its spine stuck out, and its ribs easy to see.
Griffiths went to court on February 13 and admitted to animal welfare crimes. He caused a pony to suffer and did not help its poor condition. Griffiths did not meet the animals’ needs for a good place to live and proper food, and he failed to help their conditions.
The court banned Griffiths from owning equines for ten years. He got two suspended jail sentences of 16 weeks each, and he must do community service and pay £250. The court heard Griffiths felt sorry.