A stud farmer has been sent to prison for animal cruelty after an ISPCA inspector found a horse in his care to have injuries, including pus oozing from his head and a foul smell coming from a wound 15cm long and 3cm deep across his nose.
Eamon Salmon of Fortbarrington, Athy, Co Kildare, was convicted and sentenced to three months imprisonment over the incident on September 1st, 2006, when ISPCA inspector Brendan Hughes, accompanied by gardaí, inspected a premises at Ballylehane Lower, Ballylinan, and found a yearling in what he described as "considerable distress".
Mr Hughes told the court that the wound had been caused by a head collar and it was suggested in court that the collar appeared to be too tight and that there was flesh growing over the collar.
"I was concerned for the welfare of the horse. He would not allow me to put a hand on him. It would obviously have been extremely sore to touch. He was tossing his head up and down.
"There was a lot of pus and ooze coming through the head collar and a foul smell coming from the wound.
"There was not a doubt in my mind that the horse needed attention."
Judge Eamonn O'Brien was told that it took the ISPCA inspector and gardaí a number of hours to take the animal into their care, owing to the level of terror experienced by the horse.
The horse was traced back to the ownership of Salmon as it was found on his land with other animals belonging to him.
Salmon was later visited by two ISPCA inspectors and evidence was given in court that during that meeting, he admitted ownership of the horse.
He was asked to surrender the animal to the ISPCA and signed an acceptance form doing so.
After this was done, Mr Hughes said that the defendant "became extremely annoyed" and said: " 'I know that's all you wanted to do all along - get me into court. You can't prove the yearling belongs to me. He has no chip'." (He was referring to the micro-chips which allow animal ownership to be traced).
The defendant told the court that the horse was not his and that he had "sold it on".
When the judge asked who the owner was and whether that person could be brought to court, he replied: "No, he is six months dead."
Garda Inspector Jerry Coonan put it to Salmon that this was his horse but that it was a horse "of limited ability or a reject" and that it was being kept on these lands, away from his stud farm, so that people coming to the farm could not see it.
The judge described photographs of the horse submitted to the court as "appalling".