Somerville horse breeder sentenced for animal cruelty crimes after RSPCA raid
THREE horses had to be euthanised and another 15 rescued by the RSPCA, after they were discovered severely malnourished and disease-ridden on a Somerville property, a court has heard.
South East
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THREE horses died after being starved by a self-appointed Somerville horse rescuer, a court has heard.
And more than a dozen more only survived due to rapid intervention by the RSPCA and vets.
Cathryn Kelly walked from Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday with a community corrections order, a conditional horse ban and a costs bill of nearly $12,000.
The 54-year old had pleaded guilty to five cruelty-related charges, with another 36 struck out.
The court heard the RSPCA were tipped off in April last year and inspected her Somerville property, finding around 50 horses.
They saw many of the animals were severely underweight, and had conditions such as lice, rain scald, fungal infections, lameness, sand ingestation and wounds.
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There was a gross undersupply of food, with not even basic care being provided.
One of the horses, who couldn’t stand, had to be euthanised immediately, with two more having to be put down later.
Another 15 were seized by the RSPCA and have been properly fed and treated, and rehomed.
Kelly, who has since moved to country Victoria, sobbed in court as her lawyer Kieran Burke defended her actions.
He said she had been vilified on social media and had been verbally abused by the local community.
Mr Burke said Kelly had tried to do the right thing by rescuing horses from sale yards and abattoirs.
“They often arrived in a very sick way,” Mr Burke said.
“She does concede she may have taken on more than she could handle; she proceeded with the best intentions.”
Magistrate Julian Ayres said the case appeared more to do with neglect rather than a desire to hurt any animal.
“You were attempting to save these animals from a variety of possible fates,” Mr Ayres said.
“(You) bit off more than you could chew… you should have referred them to the RSPCA immediately.”
Kelly was placed on an 18-month community corrections order, must do 180 hours work and pay RSPCA costs of $11,784.
She was also banned from owning more than seven horses for 10 years, with the disqualification and monitoring to start January 1 next year.