An RSPCA inspector told a court today that she discovered the bodies of 20 animals left rotting among more than 100 horses, ponies and donkeys allegedly left to starve at a family-run farm.
Kirsty Hampton said some carcasses were left in pens with live horses, others were burnt and dumped next to a bonfire while some were simply left lying on the ground covered in rubbish.
One dead horse was found on the back of a trailer with ropes around his tail and neck, she said. A court heard she discovered the “horror scene” after being called to Spindle Farm at Hyde Heath in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, run by 45-year-old horse trader James Gray.