8th July 2011
Horse refuge rides to the rescue of 20 Welsh ponies
PONIES from a Welsh town have been taken in by a Lincolnshire equine centre after their owners were banned from keeping them.
Bransby Home of Rest for Horses was asked to take in 20 semi-feral ponies, which included a mixture of stallions, pregnant mares and foals, by Trading Standards at Wrexham County Borough Council when their owners were convicted of neglect and cruelty charges.
The horses had been left in a small area covered in faeces and given little or no food.
Staff from the Lincolnshire rescue centre rounded up the ponies on Tuesday before loading them into horse boxes and driving them back to Bransby in a 270-mile round trip.
Philip York, head of equine operations at Bransby, near Saxilby, said: "When I was first asked to assist with these animals I had no idea we were going to have to deal with so many ponies.
"Last week, when I went with Trading Standards officers to assess the situation, I found pregnant mares, foals and stallions all mixed together in a small space with little to eat.
"Inevitably, the stallions were aggressive, putting the foals and mares at risk of serious injury. Some had no bedding, with pregnant mares expected to foal directly onto a concrete yard covered with faeces. I am delighted that the operation went so well and that all the ponies are now safely removed and can receive the care and attention that they deserve."
Wrexham County Borough Council confirmed it had worked in partnership with Bransby Home of Rest for Horses, saying staff were "very grateful" for their help and support in dealing with these ponies.
Gill Stevens, council spokesman, said: "This is an example of how Trading Standards work closely, with non-government departments, particularly in the field of equine welfare. We are very grateful to Bransby for their help during this operation and are very pleased these ponies are now being well cared for."
One of the ponies' owners, William Thomas Lloyd Jones, 73, of Hafod y Bryn Farm between Llandegla and Coedpoeth, is currently serving a 22-week jail term and has been banned from keeping animals for ten years.
He had pleaded not guilty at a hearing in June to six charges of causing unnecessary suffering, five of failing to provide a suitable environment and diet and three of failing to provide a dry lying area.
His partner Lynn Elizabeth Smith, 66, of the same address, was convicted of five counts of failing to provide a suitable environment and diet and one of failing to provide a dry lying area. She was placed on a community order and banned from keeping all animals, apart from dogs, for a decade. |
8th July 2011
Thirteen convicted for £6m vet medicine smuggling
Thirteen people have been convicted in connection with Europe’s biggest ever illegal veterinary medicine business in which more than £6 million of products were smuggled to the UK, risking the health of people and animals.
The ringleaders, Ronald Meddes, 73, and his wife Regine Lansley, 62, sold unauthorised and prescription-only medicines to more than 4,000 British customers from their properties in France and from warehouses in Belgium and Kent.
Six other key players unlawfully distributed the products on the black market to British farms, stables, kennels and vet surgeries. Three other major customers were convicted, as well as one man responsible for laundering the proceeds.
Steve Dean, Chief Executive of the Government’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), which prosecuted the case, said:
“This was a significant commercial enterprise which seriously attacked the principle of safe and effective veterinary medicines.
“Incorrect use of medication of unknown origin and dubious quality compromises animal health and welfare, increases the risk of harmful residues in the food chain and raises the spectre of unnecessary antibiotic resistance.”
The medicines included non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anabolic steroids, antibiotics, sedatives, and pain control treatments for a variety of species including horses, cows, sheep, pigs and household pets.
To be imported and sold for use in the UK all veterinary medicines must be authorised to ensure they are safe and effective, and many must be prescribed by a veterinary surgeon. Even where medicines are authorised they must be distributed and sold through licensed outlets where trained staff are available to provide the necessary advice on safe use.
Between January 2004 and November 2010 Meddes and Lansley ran a series of businesses under the “Eurovet” banner such as ZAO Eurovet International, Euro Exports CIS Limited, Global Animal Pharmaceuticals and the Animal Pharmacy. Many of the medicines were sold to the UK customers by telephone, fax and online.
Defra Investigation Services began investigating, on behalf of VMD, in 2006 after small seizures of illegal medicines in other investigations were linked back to a single source. Large seizures were made at Ashford and Dover in Kent, Aldershot in Hampshire, and Stanstead Airport.
In May 2007 the French authorities, on behalf of the VMD, seized more than 20 tonnes of medicines – the biggest seizure in Europe – from Lansley and Meddes’ property in Picardy. Computer accounts and customer details for the whole illegal enterprise were found. The turnover between January 2004 and May 2007 was £5.6m.
However, Meddes and Lansley quickly re-established their business in Belgium until the Belgium authorities raided and seized further large quantities of illegal veterinary medicines in October 2008.
At Croydon Crown Court, Meddes, of Picardy and Charing, Kent, and Lansley, of Picardy, and Chelsea, London, admitted illegally importing and supplying unauthorised and prescription-only veterinary medicines. He was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment and she was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment.
Another four defendants admitted illegally supplying unauthorised and prescription-only veterinary medicines: Igor Kantov, 54, a driver and assistant from Normandy and Southend-on-Sea, was sentenced to 2 years conditional discharge; his wife Cherryl Kantov, 64, a bookkeeper, was sentenced to 2 years conditional discharge ; Alexandra John, 50, an agent from Capel, Surrey, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for 2 years and 200 hours unpaid work; and Andris Friend, 45, a wholesaler from Spalding, Lincolnshire, was sentenced to 13 months imprisonment.
Two others were found guilty at trial of illegal importation and supply: riding school boss Peter Lock, 53, of Doddinghurst, Essex, was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment suspended 2 years and 250 hours unpaid work; stud boss Richard Jones, 60, of Sedgeberrow, Worcestershire, was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment suspended 2 years and 200 hours unpaid work and [his partner] June Connelly, 68, of Sedgeberrow, Worcestershire, who pleaded guilty was sentenced to 4 months imprisonment suspended 2 years and 140 hours unpaid work.
Having set up a company and a bank account, Mark Harvey, 52, of Sissinghurst, Kent, admitted money laundering and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended 2 years and 275 hours unpaid work.
Richard James, 44, of Carmarthen, Wales, admitted supply, possession and administration for use in his artificial insemination business and was sentenced to 100 hours unpaid work; confiscation £45551.88 to be paid by 7 October 2011 – 16 months imprisonment in default of payment.
Beef farmer John Andrew Hawley, of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, admitted possession for use on his own animals and was sentenced to community order 100 hours unpaid work and £2,500 in costs.
Lee Wilson (aka Leonard French), 73, of Langworth, Lincolnshire, admitted charges of possession, importation, supply and will be sentenced on 9 September.
Notes
The companies in this case with the name Eurovet had no connection or involvement whatsoever with the bona-fide veterinary medicines company “Eurovet Animal Health BV or its UK branch Eurovet Animal Health Limited based in Cambridge”. |
