Amersham Animals To Stay Put For Time Being
| RSPCA Statement from the press office Monday 14 April 2008 Amersham Animals To Stay Put For Time Being A hearing to decide the immediate fate of 29 donkeys and Shetland ponies owned by the Gray family has today resulted in the animals remaining in the care of the RSPCA and other welfare organisations. |  |
Deputy District Judge Sandeep Kainth, at Oxford Magistrates Court, suspended the original order for the 11 donkeys and 18 ponies to be returned to the family in light of representation by the RSPCA. The case will now go to the High Court and will be subject to a judicial review.
A legal application was made on Friday 14 April by James Gray of Spindle Farm, Hyde Heath, Amersham, Buckinghamshire for the RSPCA to immediately return 29 animals that they and other welfare charities have been caring for since police seized them in January 2008.
The application was made by James Gray after Deputy District Judge Kainth ordered that 11 donkeys and 18 ponies be returned to him by the RSPCA, at a hearing in Oxford Magistrates Court on Friday 4 April.
For the RSPCA, Phillip Havers, QC, today said that to enforce the previous order to return the animals would be deciding the outcome of a judicial review before it happened.
He also said that there would be a risk of suffering to the donkeys and ponies if they were returned as donkeys were among the dead animals removed in January. Also, prosecution vet Robert Baskerville found that one of the donkeys was "considered to be at risk of death within hours or days unless it received urgent specialist treatment."
"We are, of course, delighted that the animals will remain in the care of the animal welfare charities for the immediate future and hope we will be able to secure their long-term well-being," said the RSPCA's Chief Officer Tim Wass.
"We have very real concerns for the welfare of the donkeys, ponies and horses involved, which is why we are asking the Deputy District Judge to explain the original decision."
Mr Justice Wyn Williams, at the High Court on Friday 14 April, referred the matter back to Oxford Magistrates Court, stating that: "by far the most appropriate person to enforce the order is the person who made the order".
Added on: 15/04/08. Views: 289
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