European Horse Abuser Jailed for Second Time

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European Horse Abuser Jailed for Second Time

On Friday 19th September, banned horse owner Delia Stacey, who allowed a pregnant mare to starve to death in sight of 1,000 bales of hay, appeared at Guildford Crown Court where she was jailed for a second time for again breaching an order banning her from keeping horses.

District Judge Lawson Rogers QC told Stacey it was ‘so serious that only a custodial sentence was justified.’ He sentenced her to 112 days in prison, a further 5 year ban on keeping horses, £5,000 costs and granted ownership of the 5 horses she was found to be in possession of earlier this year to the RSPCA.

The case goes back to March 2005 when Ted Barnes, Field Officer for World Horse Welfare (the new name for the International League for Protection of Horses) and RSPCA Inspector Nicky Thorne responded to a welfare call and visited Delia Stacey’s 86 acre Pepperbox Stud in Bramley, near Guildford. There they found four emaciated horses including a bay mare, Desert Sand, who was pregnant and so weak she was unable to stand. With the help of a vet and the police the team struggled into the night to save Desert Sand but finally had to have her euthanised to put an end to her suffering. The three surviving horses were taken to World Horse Welfare’s Hall Farm Recovery and Rehabilitation Centre in Norfolk.

Delia Stacey first appeared in Court in May 2006 and was given a one year suspended sentence, 120 hours community service, fined £9,000 and banned from keeping horses for 3 years after being found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to horses in her care. In August 2007 the Eclipse Horse Transport owner was subsequently sent to prison for 35 days and fined another £2,000 for breaching her ban, after she was spotted transporting polo ponies to Ham Polo Club in her lorry along the M23/M25, just days after she was sentenced.

Speaking after the verdict, World Horse Welfare Field Officer Ted Barnes said: “I am very pleased with the outcome. This has been a long time coming and there has been a great deal of difficult and complex work put in by RSPCA Inspector Nicky Thorne to reach this point. The District Judge, in his wisdom, has given a very severe sentence to Miss Stacey and make no mistake, she deserves it."

Source: www.ilph.org

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