A Moray farmer, Douglas Duncan, gets 240 hours of unpaid work for neglect after SSPCA found emaciated cattle; some died.
The neglected cattle were on his farm, and some cows were very emaciated. Sadly, they later died there. The SSPCA did an inspection at his farm in Knockando after neighbors reported the livestock’s poor state on June 5, 2022, alerting them due to their concerns.
An inspector visited the farm. Duncan let the inspector onto his property to assess the animals. The inspector saw three shorthorn heifers behind a stone shed and described the scene as awful.
Their bones showed clearly, and their skin was tight and stretched. They were covered in dried muck and were in a horrible condition. One of the three cows was already dead during the inspection; the poor animal had already passed away.
Duncan stated the animals calved, but the inspector thought they looked too small. She didn’t believe they had given birth. Duncan moved them the day before, but they were too weak to even stand.
Food and water were nearby, but the cows couldn’t reach it. The inspector asked Duncan to call a vet, who arrived around 5:30 pm that day to assess the suffering animals. The vet said one could not recover, and so they euthanized that heifer there, as it was the kindest thing to relieve its pain.
They gave the last heifer a little time, hoping it could possibly recover, but it was euthanized just three days later. The vet felt treatment should have started sooner. By the time they came, it was too late; putting them down was the only option.
His lawyer said other animals were fine and Duncan thought his experience could help them. He believed he could nurse them back to health. Duncan is winding down his farm and has no one to give it to.
He already reduced his stock, and his farming days are coming to an end. His lawyer asked for a warning, wanting the sheriff to see it as “one-off,” and asked to consider admonishment. The Sheriff disagreed with the lawyer and felt it was a very serious matter.
He claimed a warning wasn’t enough. Duncan got 240 hours of unpaid work and must finish it in twelve months. The sentence was due to his neglect.