The owner of a Pembrokeshire ‘horror farm’ who breached an indefinite ban on keeping animals has been sent to prison for eight months.

Swansea Crown Court heard today that police and council officials who visited a property at Bramble Hall Farm on February 7 last year found rooms with animal urine and excrement on the floor and three seriously ill animals. They seized 12 dogs, two love birds and a tortoise.

In two of the rooms the dogs were kept there was urine and excrement on the floor and the dogs’ bedding was soaked in urine.

Three of the dogs needed immediate veterinary attention. A small Jack Russel puppy had lacerations and was lethargic and recumbent. The puppy was given antibiotics and put on a drip at Fenton vets.

A female Yorkshire terrier had long-standing dental neglect and a fracture to her jaw while a male French bulldog had chronic skin disease.

The tortoise was also found to be without adequate bedding and had no greens.

Sean Burns, 52, of Bramble Hall Farm, Ferry Lane, Pembroke Dock, had been banned from keeping animals in February 2020 following animal welfare convictions.

In 2019 more than 200 animals, including goats, pigs sheep and horses were removed from Bramble Hall farm after an operation involving police, Pembrokeshire County Council, Dogs Trust and the RSPCA.

The following September Burns was made the subject of a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, for his part in the production of smokies at the farm.

The court heard how Burns had initially denied breaching the ban, stating that he had nothing to do with the running of the farm.

However, on the day of trial he changed his plea to guilty on the basis that he had become involved in the day to day ‘care’ of the animals due to his mother’s ill health and that he accepted that he should have notified the authorities of this.

In his defence it was said that the animals were at the home address and that Burns had become involved with them due to his mother’s health issues.

There had been no further offending since the end of the suspended sentence and that many of the animals seized last year were not in poor health.

Judge His Honour PH Thomas KC said that there were aggravating factors in the case, namely that Burns had convictions for ‘broadly similar matters’ in January 2018, September and October 2019 and January 2020. Burns had also received warnings and professional advice on these matters in the past.

He said that he had taken on board arguments about Burn’s health. The defendant appeared in court in a wheelchair and his defence solicitor said that he was on a number of medications for health conditions. However, he said that he had some scepticism as no medical evidence had been produced.

He sentenced Burns to eight months in prison, four of which will be spent in custody, the other four on licence.

Judge Thomas redrafted the disqualification order to include ‘owning, keeping, participating in the keeping or being party to arrangements with animals to control or influence their keeping’.

He imposed a ten-year period before Burns would be able to appeal the ban.

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