A HORSE trader accused of animal cruelty told a court today none of the animals found dead at his farm had shown signs of being “depressed or ill” before their deaths.
James Gray, the owner of Spindles Farm in Chalk Lane, Hyde Heath, said he had never experienced a loss of animals like the one he had before an RSPCA inspection of the farm in January last year.
The 44-year-old said he had sole responsibility for the welfare of the horses, donkeys and ponies – and told Bicester Magistrates’ Court two of his co-accused are “frightened” of the animals.