Family convicted over horse neglect

RSPCA inspectors discovered the cruelty when they were called to Spindle Farm in Amersham, Buckinghamshire in January last year.

Horse trader James Gray, 45, and his son James Gray Junior, 16, were found guilty of 11 charges under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, while his wife Julie Gray, 41, and daughters Jodie, 26, and Cordelia Gray, 20, were each found guilty of two charges under the same act.

The animals were left to die of starvation in a "horror scene" surrounded by rotting corpses.

Vets who visited Spindle Farm described the situation as the worst case of animal cruelty they had ever seen. RSPCA inspectors found horses kept with little dry bedding and crammed into pens, ankle deep in their own faeces.

Hooves and body parts were also discovered scattered across the farm, along with a mound made up of bones and skulls. Bicester Magistrates' Court heard there were 140 animals at the farm, many of which were left with little food.

RSPCA chief inspector Rob Skinner said he found 32 carcasses in different locations when he went to look around. Some of these were burnt and dumped on a bonfire while others were left lying on the ground, covered in rubbish.

One dead horse was found on the back of a trailer with ropes around its tail. In total 115 animals, some severely emaciated, had to be rescued and removed from the site.

Mr Skinner said horses looked "dejected" and "emaciated" and some animals could not feed freely as they were being bullied by others. During an inspection he found horses in overcrowded pens littered with faeces.

And he said one pony was unable to stand and had to be rolled over so vets could examine it.