Cornwall farmer who kept 'emaciated' animals living next to carcasses banned from keeping sheep

A Cornish farmer has been banned from keeping sheep for 10 years after his animals were found emaciated and living next to carcasses.

Benjamin James Bennett, 41, admitted failing to care for sheep and for not disposing of sheep carcasses at Bodmin Magistrates' Court on April 12.

He was handed a four-month suspended prison sentence and banned from keeping sheep for 10 years after providing inadequate care.

The farmer, from Callington, had previously received a caution for cruelty offences at his North Kingston Farm in 2019.

He was found to not have acted on any advice given during inspections by Cornwall Council’s Animal Health Team and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Animal and Plant Agency.

Cornwall Council’s trading standards manager Jane Tomlinson said: "This case was brought after inspectors had given Mr Bennett advice and guidance on several occasions.

"Mr Bennett clearly did not take that advice leading to welfare issues with his sheep and a disregard for the requirements of the animal welfare legislation regarding the disposal of carcasses."

Inspections took place at North Kingston Farm in July 2021 in response to a complaint.

The following month, the inspectors had returned to the farm and found more breaches of legislation.

They found sheep being kept in an unsuitable environment close to hazardous items including sheet metal cladding and sheep carcasses.

• Warning: Contains footage some may find distressing

Two sheep were found emaciated with other animals also having an inadequate diet.

Some of the sheep had flystrike - a painful and sometimes fatal condition caused by flies laying their eggs on another animal - and had not received prompt treatment.

Councillor Martin Alvey, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for Environment and Climate Change, added: "When advice and guidance are given, but not acted on, we will not hesitate to pursue formal proceedings.

"Allowing sheep access to hazards, failing to provide them with an adequate diet, failing to treat them for flystrike and leaving dead sheep to rot in fields is completely unacceptable.

"I welcome the court's decision to keep animals safe and to protect the reputation of the Cornish farming industry."

The court was told the size of the farm had been reduced after a family dispute so Bennett had sought employment elsewhere to supplement his income.

This job took his time and was away from the farm so he could not look after the sheep properly.

Credit was given to Bennett for the early guilty plea but the severity of the offences had passed the custody threshold.

It was acknowledged the farmer had taken on some of the advice he had been given but he had not done enough to address the situation.

The 10-year ban on keeping sheep was given to the 41-year-old to allow him time to get his life back in order.

The ban is suspended for 28 days to give him the opportunity to dispose of his sheep.

He was also ordered to pay £6,577 in costs, as well as a £146 surcharge.