A hearing to decide the immediate fate of 29 donkeys and Shetland ponies owned by the Gray family has resulted in the animals remaining in the care of the RSPCA and other welfare organisations, pending the result of a High Court appeal.
Deputy District Judge Sandeep Kainth, suspended his original court order for the 11 donkeys and 18 ponies to be returned to the family, and for the remaining 82 horses to be sold at auction, in light of representations made by the RSPCA at Oxford Magistrates Court yesterday (14 April).
The matter will now be taken by the RSPCA to the High Court, during which time the whole court order, made on 4 April, will be stayed.
At yesterday’s hearing, James Gray of Spindle Farm, Hyde Heath, Amersham, Buckinghamshire had applied for the RSPCA to immediately return 29 animals that they and other welfare charities have been caring for since police seized them in January 2008.
The RSPCA instead requested for the Deputy District Judge’s case to be stated for purposes of judicial review, and that the order be stayed in the interim period. Judge Kainth found in the RSPCA’s favour.
For the RSPCA, Phillip Havers, QC, said that to enforce the previous order to return the animals would effectively be deciding the outcome of a judicial review before it was concluded.
He also said that there would be a risk of suffering to the donkeys and ponies if they were returned as donkeys were among the dead animals removed in January. Also, prosecution vet Robert Baskerville found that one of the donkeys was “considered to be at risk of death within hours or days unless it received urgent specialist treatment.”
“We are, of course, delighted that the animals will remain in the care of the animal welfare charities for the immediate future and will do all we can to secure their long-term well-being,” said the RSPCA’s Chief Officer Tim Wass.
“We have very real concerns for the welfare of the donkeys, ponies and horses involved, which is why we are asking the Deputy District Judge to explain the original decision.”
Mr Justice Wyn Williams, at the High Court on Friday 14 April, had referred Mr Gray’s application for the immediate return of the donkeys and ponies back to Oxford Magistrates Court, stating that: “by far the most appropriate person to enforce the order is the person who made the order”.
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The court order for the return of the 29 donkeys and ponies, along with the sale at auction of 82 other horses, was made on 4 April 2008 by Deputy District Judge Kainth following an application by the Gray family for their return, under Section 20 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The RSPCA contested this application, and had argued that they should be allowed instead to oversee the rehoming of the animals in order to safeguard their future welfare.
The animals will remain in the care of the RSPCA, Horse Trust, ILPH, and Redwings until the outcome of the judicial review.
The pre-trial review for the RSPCA’s criminal case against James John Gray, Julie Gray, Cordelia Gray and Jodie Gray – along with a 15 year old male – will be heard on 28 April 2008 at Oxford Magistrates Court. They face 12 charges related to section 4 and section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and cover causing unnecessary suffering to and failing to meet the welfare needs of a total of 125 horses, ponies and donkeys, removed from Spindle Farm between 4 and 12 January 2008.