CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #7948 Rating: 4.7 out of 5
Cattle starved
West Grinstead, Sussex, EN (UK)Incident Date: Monday, Sep 14, 1998
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» Annabel Kanabus
» Peter Kanabus
» Jason Kanabus
Annabel Kanabus, 50, a sister of Lord Sainsbury of Turville, the Industry Minister, has blamed government policy over BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) after she was fined for letting her cattle starve. Kanabus was fined �1,000 after admitting 22 charges after allowing unnecessary suffering on the 400-acre farm she owned in West Grinstead, Sussex.
Her husband, Peter, 49, and son Jason, 21, were responsible for the day-to-day running of the farm. They admitted to 43 offences of causing unnecessary suffering and were each fined �2,000 and banned from keeping cattle for two years. Costs of �41,000 were shared.
Kanabus admitted cruelty with her husband and a son. The herd of cattle on her beef farm had suffered seven occurrences of BSE and that confusion of government policy had left them vulnerable and unsure of what to do.
Inspector Bob Stevens of the RSPCA who brought the case against Kanabus, said the neglect should not be blamed on BSE. "It was quite simply the family's failure to feed the animals. This is one of the most appalling instance of neglect I have had to investigate in ten years. It is clear the family had the resources to look after these animals."
All 400 cattle have since been destroyed.
In 1997 and early 1998, forty-three cattle were found starving on two visits to the farm. Someone had notified the RSPCA after they saw a dead cow in a flooded field. The inspectors seized 20 cattle needing intensive treatment. Some of the cows were barely half of their normal weight.
Even with visits from the RSPCA and repeated advice from the family veterinarian, the conditions at the farm worsened. RSPCA inspectors and police went back to the farm and seized another 20 animals. Two pregnant heifers had to be shot on the spot because they were so emaciated. There were 100s of cattle crammed into a shed, a dead calf was trampled into the ground.
In defense of the Kanabus family, it was stated the BSE crisis caused them to struggle to cope with numerous government decisions such as the beef-on-the-bone ban. They had to keep older cattle while they awaited decision on which animals to cull. They also experienced staff and vandalism and these only added to their problems.
The family relied on the farm for income and Kanabus did not have the wealth of her brother. The magistrates recognized the difficulty of the beef industry and that the Kanabus family were not able to cope.
The Kanabus family issued the following statement after the case was ended, "The Kanabus family are the victims of government policy and inactivity arising from the initial BSE disclosures and subsequent developments. While the family deeply regrets ever having been brought before the courts in respect of any matter, the fact is that this BSE problem has affected a substantial number of other farmers, very often with tragic circumstances." References |
