Vet tells of shock at horse deaths (From Daily Echo)

Vet tells of shock at horse deaths

7:31am Wednesday 5th March 2008 in

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A VET answering an emergency call was shocked to discover that four horses had died overnight and another two had collapsed, a court heard.

Roderick Kynoch was giving evidence at the trial of a mother and daughter who are accused of causing unnecessary suffering to animals.

Debra Green, 41, and her daughter Michelle, 19, both of Lime Kiln Lane, Holbury, deny the allegations.

The RSPCA says horses kept by the pair were struck down by a bacterial infection, the severity of which was caused partly by the "appalling" conditions in which they were kept.

Jeremy Cave, prosecuting, has alleged that 29 horses either died from the infection or had to be put down.

Mr Kynoch, giving evidence on behalf of the prosecution, told New Forest magistrates he was called out by Debra Green on December 10, 2006.

When he arrived at the horses' field in Scallows Lane, West Wellow, he discovered that four of the animals had died overnight and another two had collapsed.

Mr Kynoch said he began treating the horses with antibiotics and organised blood tests - the results of which were "quite dramatic".

He told New Forest magistrates: "Something acute had happened to these animals.

"It was unusual to be faced with a situation in which four horses had died in such a short space of time."

Asked if he could recall any similar incidents, he said: "I can't think of any - not one that would have caused such rapid death."

The court also heard from John Pullen, an animal health and welfare inspector employed by Hampshire County Council's trading standards department.

Mr Pullen said he went to the field on December 12, 2006 following complaints that dead horses had been buried on the site. He added: "The condition of the land was very wet and very muddy, with no grass to be seen. The premises were inches deep in mud."

David Guy, a field officer with the International League for the Protection of Horses, said he had visited the site on January 9, 2006.

"I was concerned about the conditions in which the horses were expected to live - very muddy with a lot of slurry," he said.

Proceeding.