Shocking pics: "Grim secret" on Bodmin moor - horse charity
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"Grim secret" on Bodmin moor - horse charity
February 12, 2011
A horse charity in Britain says it fears another "Amersham" over the deaths of several ponies and the deteriorating condition of others on Bodmin moor in Cornwall.
One of two pregnant mares on Bodmin who are fast losing condition.
South West Equine Protection rekindled the horrors of the 2008 case of Spindles Farm, near Amersham, in revealing what it says is the grim secret of Bodmin moor.
It says it is disappointed at the lack of action by authorities over what it says is a worsening situation.
The remains of five ponies have been found in the last three weeks, it says.
Some had become skeletons lying on the moor, the registered charity says.
One pony sighted in poor condition last week is missing, feared dead, and others are in such poor condition the charity fears they are starving to death.
"One is so poor, it may die within the next week," said Faye Stacey, pony welfare officer with the Devon-based charity that helps moorland equines on Dartmoor and Bodmin moor who are abandoned or suffering from neglect and cruelty.
The group emphasises that each moorland pony on Dartmoor and Bodmin is owned - none of them is truly wild.
"Their owners have the same clear, legal, duty of care and responsibility to these equines, under the Animal Welfare Act, as any horse owner, but some try to avoid it," Stacey says.
"The situation on this Bodmin common is particularly shocking - not only because of the distressing nature of what is happening, but because the authorities deny that there is a problem that needs investigating.
"If I had five dead horses and three emaciated ponies in my field at home, the authorities would be on the doorstep looking for prosecutions," Stacey says.
"The fact is, legally, this case is no different. I am watching these ponies starve to death and I am extremely frustrated that all I can do is record it.
"I've seen one mare deteriorate so much over the last week that she is now having difficulty walking."
One of the mares the SWEP has been following has continued to deteriorate in a matter of days.
Stacey said the charity desperately wants to bring the pony into its care to get her the urgent medical help she needs.
"We've monitored her for a couple of weeks now, followed the correct procedure in reporting the breaches of the Animal Welfare Act, and yet the authorities prevent us from ensuring this mare gets the care she needs.
"Presumably, the authorities do not know who owns her, otherwise some sort of action would have been taken."
Stacey said the situation on the moor was totally unacceptable and she condemned the lack of action by authorities.
"Most disturbingly, we don't know why so many have died over such a short period of time."
It needed to be properly investigated, she said.
Only one dead pony was, to her knowledge, visited by a Defra (agriculture department) Veterinary Officer and it was not swabbed or post mortemed, she said.
Stacey said that pony did not die of starvation, as far as she was aware.
Another Devon-based charity, people4ponies, contacted the Cornwall Animal Health (Defra) Unit about a mare in poor condition on the common and received no response from the department at all.
Stacey said her charity was so concerned about the deaths, and the poor condition of a particular pony, that it wrote to the Cornwall divisional offices of Defra Animal Health and Trading Standards, whose job it is to enforce the Animal Welfare Act, asking for the ponies to be rounded up and properly inspected.
The Trading Standards Animal Health inspector for Cornwall Council refused the request.
"He stated that Defra Animal Health and Trading Standards had no concerns over the welfare of the ponies on this common ... and yet the pictures speak for themselves.
The dead pony found on January 20.
The skeleton found in the same area on January 25.
The grey pony mare, also pictured below, who was found dead the day after being seen distressed.
"If the ponies were not in their full winter coats, the true extent of their bodily condition would be even more shocking."
Stacey said the group had received many phone calls from members of the public concerned about ponies in poor condition on other areas of Bodmin Moor.
"We wished to discuss these reports with the authorities, but they refused. Many members of the public choose to report welfare cases to us anonymously because they are too scared of the people who own the ponies, and perhaps the same is true of the authorities."
She said her group has been inundated with reports of neglected equines on both Bodmin and Dartmoor.
Timeline: 20/01/11 - South West Equine protection responded to a report of a dead pony on a common on Bodmin. It was a young pony who died out on the moor. It was in poor condition but not emaciated. It was the second pony to have died there within the last week. Animal Health vet in attendance but pony was not scanned for a microchip. No post-mortem was conducted and no swabs were taken. One living mare in poor condition was also discovered. A walker reported seeing a foal in poor condition but it could not be found.
25/01/11 - Skeleton of pony discovered on the same Bodmin Common. A leg bone with moss on it at another location on this site reveals another pony death, probably from last year.
28/01/11 - South West Equine protection writes to Cornwall Animal Health (Defra) and Trading Standards departments reporting what has been found and asks for a proper inspection of the herds on this common.
31/01/11 - Trading Standards respond with an email stating that they have no concerns over the welfare of the ponies, despite photographs of their condition being sent.
01/02/11 - The pony in poor condition is being monitored by the charity on Bodmin common. This mare has seriously deteriorated over the past week during the cold weather.
03/02/11 - Two more mares discovered on the common that are described by the charity as emaciated.
05/02/11 - Called out to report from a member of the public that another pony has died on this common. The pony was seen the previous day out on the common - she was lying down, distressed, with her tail up. The pony died on the moor. Its body was later found to have been left alongside a public footpath.
07/02/11 - Skeleton/carcass of another dead pony discovered on the Bodmin common - known death toll now up to five. Searched for a missing pony previously seen in poor condition on the Common - the rest of her herd was located but she was not found. It is expected that she has died. The pony first seen in poor condition on 20/01/11 is now so emaciated that she is having difficulty walking.
The grey mare who was seen in distress on Friday, February 4. She was found dead the next day,
alongside a public footpath, next to a stream.
Gale force winds and driving rain at the weekend have taken their toll on this mare, pictured on Monday, February 7. "Her walking is now affected because of the muscle loss. Her thick winter coat prevents her ribs from showing. Without intervention, she may die this week," the SWEP fears.
February 12, 2011
A horse charity in Britain says it fears another "Amersham" over the deaths of several ponies and the deteriorating condition of others on Bodmin moor in Cornwall.
One of two pregnant mares on Bodmin who are fast losing condition.
South West Equine Protection rekindled the horrors of the 2008 case of Spindles Farm, near Amersham, in revealing what it says is the grim secret of Bodmin moor.
It says it is disappointed at the lack of action by authorities over what it says is a worsening situation.
The remains of five ponies have been found in the last three weeks, it says.
Some had become skeletons lying on the moor, the registered charity says.
One pony sighted in poor condition last week is missing, feared dead, and others are in such poor condition the charity fears they are starving to death.
"One is so poor, it may die within the next week," said Faye Stacey, pony welfare officer with the Devon-based charity that helps moorland equines on Dartmoor and Bodmin moor who are abandoned or suffering from neglect and cruelty.
The group emphasises that each moorland pony on Dartmoor and Bodmin is owned - none of them is truly wild.
"Their owners have the same clear, legal, duty of care and responsibility to these equines, under the Animal Welfare Act, as any horse owner, but some try to avoid it," Stacey says.
"The situation on this Bodmin common is particularly shocking - not only because of the distressing nature of what is happening, but because the authorities deny that there is a problem that needs investigating.
"If I had five dead horses and three emaciated ponies in my field at home, the authorities would be on the doorstep looking for prosecutions," Stacey says.
"The fact is, legally, this case is no different. I am watching these ponies starve to death and I am extremely frustrated that all I can do is record it.
"I've seen one mare deteriorate so much over the last week that she is now having difficulty walking."
One of the mares the SWEP has been following has continued to deteriorate in a matter of days.
Stacey said the charity desperately wants to bring the pony into its care to get her the urgent medical help she needs.
"We've monitored her for a couple of weeks now, followed the correct procedure in reporting the breaches of the Animal Welfare Act, and yet the authorities prevent us from ensuring this mare gets the care she needs.
"Presumably, the authorities do not know who owns her, otherwise some sort of action would have been taken."
Stacey said the situation on the moor was totally unacceptable and she condemned the lack of action by authorities.
"Most disturbingly, we don't know why so many have died over such a short period of time."
It needed to be properly investigated, she said.
Only one dead pony was, to her knowledge, visited by a Defra (agriculture department) Veterinary Officer and it was not swabbed or post mortemed, she said.
Stacey said that pony did not die of starvation, as far as she was aware.
Another Devon-based charity, people4ponies, contacted the Cornwall Animal Health (Defra) Unit about a mare in poor condition on the common and received no response from the department at all.
Stacey said her charity was so concerned about the deaths, and the poor condition of a particular pony, that it wrote to the Cornwall divisional offices of Defra Animal Health and Trading Standards, whose job it is to enforce the Animal Welfare Act, asking for the ponies to be rounded up and properly inspected.
The Trading Standards Animal Health inspector for Cornwall Council refused the request.
"He stated that Defra Animal Health and Trading Standards had no concerns over the welfare of the ponies on this common ... and yet the pictures speak for themselves.
The dead pony found on January 20.
The skeleton found in the same area on January 25.
The grey pony mare, also pictured below, who was found dead the day after being seen distressed.
"If the ponies were not in their full winter coats, the true extent of their bodily condition would be even more shocking."
Stacey said the group had received many phone calls from members of the public concerned about ponies in poor condition on other areas of Bodmin Moor.
"We wished to discuss these reports with the authorities, but they refused. Many members of the public choose to report welfare cases to us anonymously because they are too scared of the people who own the ponies, and perhaps the same is true of the authorities."
She said her group has been inundated with reports of neglected equines on both Bodmin and Dartmoor.
Timeline: 20/01/11 - South West Equine protection responded to a report of a dead pony on a common on Bodmin. It was a young pony who died out on the moor. It was in poor condition but not emaciated. It was the second pony to have died there within the last week. Animal Health vet in attendance but pony was not scanned for a microchip. No post-mortem was conducted and no swabs were taken. One living mare in poor condition was also discovered. A walker reported seeing a foal in poor condition but it could not be found.
25/01/11 - Skeleton of pony discovered on the same Bodmin Common. A leg bone with moss on it at another location on this site reveals another pony death, probably from last year.
28/01/11 - South West Equine protection writes to Cornwall Animal Health (Defra) and Trading Standards departments reporting what has been found and asks for a proper inspection of the herds on this common.
31/01/11 - Trading Standards respond with an email stating that they have no concerns over the welfare of the ponies, despite photographs of their condition being sent.
01/02/11 - The pony in poor condition is being monitored by the charity on Bodmin common. This mare has seriously deteriorated over the past week during the cold weather.
03/02/11 - Two more mares discovered on the common that are described by the charity as emaciated.
05/02/11 - Called out to report from a member of the public that another pony has died on this common. The pony was seen the previous day out on the common - she was lying down, distressed, with her tail up. The pony died on the moor. Its body was later found to have been left alongside a public footpath.
07/02/11 - Skeleton/carcass of another dead pony discovered on the Bodmin common - known death toll now up to five. Searched for a missing pony previously seen in poor condition on the Common - the rest of her herd was located but she was not found. It is expected that she has died. The pony first seen in poor condition on 20/01/11 is now so emaciated that she is having difficulty walking.
The grey mare who was seen in distress on Friday, February 4. She was found dead the next day,
alongside a public footpath, next to a stream.
Gale force winds and driving rain at the weekend have taken their toll on this mare, pictured on Monday, February 7. "Her walking is now affected because of the muscle loss. Her thick winter coat prevents her ribs from showing. Without intervention, she may die this week," the SWEP fears.