10-year ban for farmer (48) who neglected cattle

A judge has fined and handed a 10-year animal ban to a farmer (48) for neglecting his livestock.

Clifford Mitchell, from Ludgvan, Penzance, in the UK, appeared before Truro Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, September 22^nd, 2021.

The farmer will have to pay £1,440 in fines and court costs, following a prosecution brought by Cornwall Council.

Animal ban for farmer

On January 20^th, 2021, and June 14^th, 2021, Cornwall Council’s animal health team officers and a vet from DEFRA visited the farm.

They found that most of the animals he kept on the farm were in “unacceptable” conditions.

Kingsley Keat, prosecuting on behalf of Cornwall Council, told the court that the land was overstocked. No grass was available, even in June, and no supplementary feed.

Also, the court heard the cattle were in poor body condition. Two bulls were “left to run with the herd, so there was no attempt to control the numbers”.

He had not tagged some calves, cattle had access to “lots of scrap”, and fencing was poor.

Keat added that most of the poultry had no dry litter, water or food and had access to scrap. The court heard some of the poultry were shut in darkness and could not fully stand up in their hutches.

In mitigation, it was said in court that the defendant had been struggling following the death of his business partner and mother.

He was overwhelmed with all the work and struggled to make progress due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The chairman of the bench said Mitchell could not look after his animals and that the case showed “prolonged neglect” to the animals.

Mitchell pleaded guilty to the following charges for failing to:

• Provide cattle with a suitable diet and dry lying;
• Protect cattle and poultry from dangerous objects;
• Provide clean water, food, or bedding to poultry;
• Tag a calf within 20 days of birth;
• Remove poultry carcasses.

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