Court told of dying sheep found in sack

Animal owner Alexandra Garbutt was yesterday hit with a hefty financial penalty and banned from keeping livestock for two years.

Garbutt, 53, was fined £1,000 with costs of £4,000.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the divorcee was often away from the farm in east Cleveland trying to resolve personal matters.

Garbutt told investigators she had asked others to care for her flock while she was absent.

She accepted she was responsible for the welfare of the animals.

Garbutt first came to the attention of animal health inspectors from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council in February 2005 when a member of the public complained about carcasses.

Joan Smith, prosecuting, said two dead sheep and a lamb were found on the land at Street House Farm, Loftus.

She said that Garbutt was given advice for future care by the local authority experts.

She was given a formal warning during a follow-up visit four months later, when the flock of 35 sheep was considered to be in poor condition, and she said she would soon be leaving the farm.

Officals from the council, Defra and a vet made a further visit in October and discovered four carcasses in varying stages of decomposition and a dying sheep in a sack.

James Kemp, mitigating, said land at the farm had been sold and Garbutt was allowed to continue grazing sheep there, but had problems getting access to them.

Mr Kemp said Garbutt accepted she failed to dispose of carcasses quickly enough but was unaware of some of the problems because of the time she spent away.

Garbutt, now a pub licensee in Worcestershire, admitted delaying the removal of sheep carcasses and failing to get prompt veterinary attention for one animal on or about October 7, 2005.

Judge David Bryant told her: "I appreciate that at the relevant time you had other concerns, but that being so, if you could not look after your sheep you should have arranged to dispose of them.

"You had ample warning on two occasions at least earlier in the year."