James Gray told a court yesterday that it was common for horses to “drop down dead”.
Gray, 45, of Spindle Farm, Hyde Heath, Buckinghamshire, said some of the animals found on his land had died without warning or displaying any sign of illness.
And he said some corpses, which were left lying on his property for several days, were “family pets” which he was waiting to bury.
The James Gray trial is being held at Bicester Magistrates’ Court, in Oxfordshire. He is being tried alongside his wife Julie Gray, 41, his daughters Jodie Gray, 26, and Cordelia Gray, 20, and another person who cannot be named.