A farmer has been given a suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to 18 charges relating to animal welfare and recording offences, according to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland.
William Ronald Armstrong, of Gorey Road, Cabragh, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, was sentenced today, Monday, October 14, at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court.
The farmer was sentenced in respect of: three charges of failure to ensure the needs of animals were met to the extent required by good practice; one charge of failure to dispose of a carcass; eight charges of failure to comply with a duty with regard to animal welfare; two charges of failure to make and retain medicine records; and two charges of failure to produce medicine records.
Armstrong had previously pleaded guilty to all charges; in respect of the three charges of ensuring the needs of animals were met and the four medicines records related charges he was sentenced to four months imprisonment suspended to three years, according to the department.
In respect of failing to dispose of animal by-products he was sentenced to two months imprisonment suspended for three years and he received a conditional discharge for three years in respect of the other offences of failing to comply with animal welfare requirements.
The case arose from an anonymous complaint from a member of the public regarding animal welfare concerns on Armstrong’s premises, the department concluded.
