Farmer jailed after pigs left in ‘absolutely appalling conditions’

Farmer jailed after pigs left in ‘absolutely appalling conditions’

15 February 2023

A KILLINCHY farmer who left his pigs wallowing in “appalling” conditions has been jailed for seven and a half months.

Imprisoning Nigel Foster (55) at Newry Crown Court last Thursday and ordering him to spend the same period on licence, Judge Gordon Kerr KC said the offences amounted to a “very bad case” of animal suffering.

“The scene, as described, is absolutely appalling. No animals should be kept in this condition and there is no excuse for this type of behaviour,” said the judge, revealing it was the third time Foster had been in court for animal welfare offences.

Foster, of Whiterock Road, had admitted 10 charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals and one charge of failing to dispose of animal carcasses in November 2019.

Summarising the case during his sentencing remarks, Judge Kerr outlined that when inspectors went to a farm at Drumcaw Road, Clough, near Newcastle, they found approximately 70 animals.

Some were dead, others were “profoundly emaciated” and three were in such bad condition that they had to be euthanised.

“Some of the live animals were feeding on the carcasses of the dead pigs and many of the pigs didn’t have access to food, while others were being fed merely flour,” said the judge, adding that none of the animals, which were being kept in pens, had access to bedding material or dry, lined areas.

Leaking pipes meant there was a build-up of water faeces and when Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) inspectors contacted Foster, he claimed the animals were suffering from disease so he couldn’t sell them for fear of it spreading.

Foster further claimed to the inspectors that the pigs were under veterinary treatment and, despite being ordered to dispose of the carcasses, they were still there a week later when inspectors returned, so a private company was contracted in at a cost of £7,500.

Judge Kerr told the court that Foster’s previous court appearances, in Cheltenham and Ards Magistrates’ Courts, also related to the welfare of pigs.

He said that while Foster had been suffering from a broken left foot at the time of the latest offences, and he told inspectors he had “made alternative arrangements” for the animals’ care, “it is perfectly clear, and he has accepted, that the alternative arrangements were not satisfactory and led to this appalling behaviour”.

In addition to the prison sentence, Foster was banned from keeping animals for seven years and instructed to pay a compensation order for £7,500.