Shockingly last week (7 January) saw a former veterinary nurse and her partner charged with two counts of animal neglect. Pleading guilty at York Magistrates Court, Toni Veitch, 42 admitted to causing the death of her bay gelding named ‘Flame’ and the severely neglected condition of a second bay gelding ‘Fizz’. Her partner Robson, 41 also pleaded guilty to the two charges.
Veitch was subsequently banned from keeping horses for life and given a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months on condition she completes twelve months supervision including a rehabilitation course, and observes a nightly eleven-hour curfew for ten weeks. Robson, was ordered to do 80 hours’ unpaid work. Both were each ordered to pay £500 prosecution costs.
Veitch claimed the neglect of the two geldings was “out of character” and an unfortunate by-product of family bereavements and mental health issues. However Phil Brown, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA brought to light that the charity has had to previously euthanize animals in Veitch’s care, as well having to issue her animal welfare notices. Veitch had declared ‘Flame’ “as fit as a fiddle when clearly this was not so”. A vet sadly confirmed he had been suffering for two to three weeks with lice, an infection and septicaemia and was generally in such poor condition, he had to be put down.
Senior magistrate Ian Fithian-Franks told Veitch: “Your culpability was high, especially as you had previously been a veterinary nurse with experience of caring for the welfare of animals.”
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