Woman banned from keeping horses for eight years (From Community Newsgroup)

Woman banned from keeping horses for eight years

12:13pm Thursday 11th December 2008

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AN eight year ban on keeping horses has been given to a Wilmslow woman with a history of neglecting the animals.

Caroline Sutton, 52, of Lindfield Estate North in Wilmslow, appeared before Macclesfield magistrates on Wednesday and was given a three year community order with supervision requirements, an eight year ban on owning, keeping, dealing, transporting, or having any part in the welfare of horses, and costs of £250 for a catalogue of offences under Section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Magistrates also ordered that the remaining horses in her care be seized. World Horse Welfare was delighted with the sentence. It said Caroline Sutton’s appearance in court marked the culmination of many years’ work by its chief field officer, Paul Teasdale, and the RSPCA, and was only possible thanks to new legislation that came into force with the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. From May to September 2007 a total of seven horses were removed from premises Sutton rented in Alderley Edge, including three stallions and four ponies, all living in squalid and dangerous conditions. The future of these horses is now secure.

Paul Teasdale said: “Caroline Sutton has been a thorn in the side of World Horse Welfare, the RSPCA and countless local people, for many years. It is only through the introduction of new legislation that we were finally able to bring to an end the totally unacceptable manner in which she has been keeping her horses.

“From the first day I met her, Caroline Sutton professed to be a horse lover. In fact she is a disgrace and embarrassment to the horse world. She alone is responsible for subjecting her horses to a life of misery, discomfort and squalor and should be ashamed of herself. She deserves her punishment together with the contempt of those of us who have had the misfortune to deal with her over the years.”

Two of the seven horses seized from Caroline Sutton were taken to World Horse Welfare’s Penny Farm in Blackpool and have thrived in the charity’s care.

It is hoped they will soon find loving new homes.

Anybody who is interested in rehoming a horse from World Horse Welfare can visit www.worldhorsewelfare.org

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