CRUELTY TO HORSES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18380, 21 April 1923, Page 13

CRUELTY TO HORSES.

OWNER SENT TO GAOL. u AN AUSTRALIAN CASE. A case of cruelty to animals 'which resulted in gaol for the offender -was heard in the Ashfield Police Court recently, says a Sydney paper, when" Limbery Hooper, an inspector of , the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, proceeded against William : Cunningham, for cruelly 111-treating a .horse, of which ;he was the owner and driver, by working it at Five Dock on April 6 while it was| not free from sores calculated to cause pain. There was a second information in ; respect -of another horse of which 'Cunningham was ; the owner, but driven by a man named Brown, on the same date. t ; The inspector stated that -he saw defendant driving the : first horse in a cart in Lithgow Street, Five Dock. ; ■ He; had the harness removed and found, sores 4in. by 3£in. on each shoulder; the withers on both sides were • raw; and there ? were; also girth sores about 2£in. in diameter. He examined the collar and found it covered with congealed blood, also wet j blood from that morning's driving, and a i thick coating of dirt. ;. On being asked i why he was working the horse when; it had such sores, the defendant replied: "Men have 'to j work with sores; why not horses." The other horse, which Brown was driving, had a sore about 2£in. by 2in. on' its back. ' Both knees were broken, and the off knee Vwas : swollen to double its size, with inflammation. The wounds had not been washed or attended. to, and the dirt had got into them. The! inspector added that: they : were -two of i the worst cases he had ever seen in the district. 1 In reply to the magistrate, the defendant said he did not wish to say anything. He could only contradict the' inspector and he thought the less he ' said the better." ; v * , The Magistrate: But why? I will listen to anything you have to say. ' Personally, I. think it a case " for imprisonment. You know you are liable to three months' imprisonment. . v ?Defendant: I hope I don't have to go to gaol, as I don't think it is right, because it is not as bad as the inspector makes out. I would rather pay than, have to go to gaol. The Inspector: I may state that I had another case against the defendant, but the horse died. It was alleged that the horse had.been beaten with a hay batten by the defendant, or his employee, and died from broken ribs. Magistrate: I think these are very bad cases, and I feel I would not be doing my duty if I inflicted a fine. The defendant i is sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment in each, case, sentences to be concurrent.