Whitland farmer jailed for animal cruelty and banned for decade

A Carmarthenshire farmer has been jailed for 18 weeks and banned from keeping animals for 10 years after inspectors found cattle living in poor conditions and a blind, underweight dog that had to be put down.

Thomas Raymond Jones, of St John Street, Whitland, was sentenced at Llanelli Magistrates Court after pleading guilty or being convicted of 17 offences involving domestic and agricultural animals.

Officers from Carmarthenshire Council’s animal welfare team visited Jones’ farm near Whitland in February 2024 following an anonymous tip-off about improperly disposed of cow carcasses.

During the inspection, they discovered cattle being kept in poor living conditions with no dry lying areas and poor quality or inedible forage to eat. A number of animals were suffering from lameness or overgrown hooves and skin conditions, whilst animal carcasses had not been properly disposed of.

A pregnant cow was found lame and living in unsuitable conditions, and six cows were identified as “thin” and two as “very thin”.

The court heard that an elderly dog was also discovered living in a small, bramble-filled enclosure littered with rubbish. The dog was in poor condition and required immediate veterinary attention – on examination, the dog was found to be underweight, blind with mature bilateral cataracts, and had overgrown nails. Due to the level of suffering, the animal had to be put down.

Following the visit, an improvement notice and an animal by-product notice were issued requiring Jones to improve conditions on the farm. However, a follow-up visit nine days later showed insufficient improvements had been made, with no veterinary attention sought for the cattle with lameness and skin conditions, and animal remains still not being properly disposed of.

Jones told inspectors he had attempted to treat the cattle himself and had arranged a hoof trimmer to visit the farm, however the products used appeared to be old, and veterinary attendance was noted as a requirement in the improvement notice.

Following a visit from Jones’ vet and the Rural Inspectorate of Wales (RIW), a number of cattle were found without ear tags or to be improperly registered or unregistered. Due to the volume of errors in Jones’ record keeping, the RIW placed a whole-herd restriction on the farm until the issues could be resolved.

Nearly five weeks later, further complaints were received regarding the carcass of a dead calf which had not been properly disposed of.

The court heard that animal health officers had previously visited Jones’ farm in 2022 following complaints of animal carcasses not being properly disposed of. During that visit, officers also witnessed cattle being kept in poor conditions, cattle without tags, animals not registered, as well as animal by-product offences. Notices and warnings were issued to Jones at that time to improve practices on the farm but the same offences were found in 2024.

Jones was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison and will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He was made subject to a disqualification order which bans him from owning and keeping animals for 10 years, and was made subject to a deprivation order which removes all animals from his control. Jones was also ordered to pay £26,805 in prosecution costs.

Speaking after the sentencing, Carmarthenshire Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for animal welfare, Aled Vaughan Owen, said: “I’m pleased that once again the hard work of Carmarthenshire County Council’s animal welfare team has provided a positive result with regards this case.

“I hope this serves as a reminder that we will always advocate for good animal welfare and hold those who do not accountable for their actions.”