A farmer accused of large-scale neglect of horses after 93 were seized by the RSPCA, and three of them had to be destroyed, received a 20 weeks suspended jail term.

A court at Llandudno in North Wales heard that only 24 of the horses were deemed by a vet to be in an acceptable condition, mainly foals.

Evan Lloyd Evans, aged 76, of Chwilog, on the Llŷn Peninsula, had been banned, by Caernarfon magistrates’ court in 2013, from keeping horses for ten years.

North Wales Chronicle: Picture: RSPCAPicture: RSPCA

But prosecutor Tudur Owen said on September 1 the RSPCA went to Pencarth Uchaf Farm at Chwilog.

One horse had a broken leg which hadn’t been treated.

There were hoof problems and bad dental care for horses. Stables were deep in muck.

The solicitor said a number of cockerels required treatment, too.

Mr Owen said Evans shouldn’t have been keeping the horses but he wasn’t cruel deliberately. He had also signed over the animals to the charity.

District judge Gwyn Jones imposed a 20 years disqualification on Evans keeping horses and poultry. He must pay £1,128 towards costs. He said the case was aggravated by previous offending.

Evans admitted breaching a disqualification imposed in November 2013 by keeping horses and causing unnecessary suffering by his failure to ensure animals received proper care.

North Wales Chronicle: Picture: RSPCAPicture: RSPCA

Defence solicitor Andrew Scott said Evans’s children had become involved when they realised the seriousness of the situation. “He could and should have been more proactive. The RSPCA knew he had these animals and he couldn’t dispose of them,” Mr Scott remarked.

Evans was “terrified” by the prospect of going back to jail. “This wasn’t deliberate. He’s become a victim of circumstances,” the lawyer added.