A WEST Devon farmer has been jailed for 84 days, for the ?woeful? neglect of his cattle, including some so emaciated they had to be put down by a vet. Exeter magistrates last Wednesday heard that Defra officials visited Richard Piers Brendon?s farms at Lydford and Bridestowe on numerous occasions since 1992 and each time had advised him of various animal welfare issues which needed to be addressed ? but he had failed to rectify the situations. Mr Brendon faced 22 charges relating to cruelty to animals or failing to comply with animal movement or disposal regulations. He admitted three charges and magistrates found him guilty of the other nineteen. He was banned from keeping farm animals for ten years by magistrates, in addition to his jail sentence, although the ban was suspended for 20 weeks to enable him to get rid of existing livestock. His application for bail was rejected. The court heard Mr Brendon had received up to £2-million compensation after his stock was wiped out in 2002 due to foot and mouth, plus subsidies of almost £300,000 since that time. But defence counsel James Rickard told the court that his client was ?barely solvent?. Sentencing Mr Brendon, chairman of magistrates Gloria Williams told the 53-year-old farmer he had shown ?total disregard? for his animals and his offences were so serious, only a custodial sentence could be justified. Devon County Council and the state veterinary services have welcomed the jail sentence. Ken Endacott, food standards manager with Devon County Council, said: ?This sentence should be a real signal that we, and the courts, will not tolerate abuse of animal health and welfare regulations. ?This was one of the worst cases we have had to investigate, breaking both welfare and fundamental farming standards. ?It is completely unacceptable to keep animals in this way, and despite repeatedly offering Mr Brendon advice and support, he chose to defy the law and subject his stock to inhumane conditions and risk the spread of disease.?
