TWO farmers from Orcheston, near Salisbury, have been sentenced after they were found guilty of mistreating cattle.

The mistreatment includes leaving cattle without water and overcrowding the animals in a pen covered in deep slurry and mud.

69-year-old Michael Babey and 52-year-old Julia Babey were sentenced at Salisbury Magistrates Court yesterday (April 24) after previously being found guilty of animal welfare offences and breaching a disqualification order.

This comes after the pair were found guilty of the charges in March this year, with Mrs Babey previously pleading guilty in May 2024 to animal welfare offences and aiding and abetting Mr Babey in breaching his disqualification order.

Mr Babey was sentenced to 20 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years and he was also ordered to pay costs of £5,000 and a victim surcharge of £154.

Mrs Babey was sentenced to a 12-month community order, fined £100 and must pay a victim surcharge of £114 plus £200 costs.

Both have also been disqualified from keeping all animals except cats, dogs and cockatiels for 10 years.

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Parvis Khansari, Corporate Director Place at Wiltshire Council, said: “We have a dedicated team of animal health officers at Wiltshire Council who will act quickly to ensure that Wiltshire farmers and livestock owners take good care of their animals.

“Mr and Mrs Babey show little regard for the law and for the welfare of their cattle. I hope that the sentencing today sends a strong message that breaking animal welfare law and mistreatment of animals will not be tolerated in Wiltshire.

“If anyone has concerns related to the health and welfare of livestock, they can contact the animal health team on 0300 456 0100.”

The charges relate to cattle the pair kept on land at Tanners Lane in Shrewton.

Mr Babey was disqualified from keeping cattle and cows for five years in 2019 to prevent the risk of suffering to his animals in, after previously been disqualified from keeping equines in 2010, with the ownership of the cattle passing to Mrs Babey.

However, animal welfare officers found Mr Babey continued to care for and keep cattle, in breach of the order.

A site visit in November 2023 revealed that 11 of the 24 cattle were being kept in one pen in heavily soiled conditions, with the feeding area covered in deep slurry and mud.

The pen was found to be non-compliant with legal requirements due to insufficient space for all of the cattle to lie down simultaneously.

Water provided was highly soiled and not of suitable quality for the animals to drink.

Conditions had not improved when animal health officers visited the site again in January 2024.

This time, 23 cattle were found to have no access to water. One cow was seen to be licking from an empty water container for five minutes.

The vet’s opinion was that the cattle were being given insufficient amounts of water.

Records for the farm showed an overall mortality rate of 31% for cattle kept by Mr and Mrs Babey.

The overall mortality rate in England for all cattle in 2023 was 5.03%.

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