A farmer who starved his Highland cows during a drought has been fined.
David Cameron left the animals in a field at Broadleys Farm near Stirling without checking on them during an extended period of dry weather in the spring and summer of 2023.
An anonymous caller alerted the SSPCA, who passed the matter on to animal health and welfare officers at Stirling Council. The Officers found no supplementary feed in the field and established it had been some time since it had been provided.
Stirling Sheriff Court, heard that the Highland cattle had a body condition score of just one out of five – classing them as “emaciated” and the other three scored 1.5 on the same scale, meaning they were malnourished and “very lean”.
Prosecutor Lindsey Brooks said one of the cows that had just had her first calf had failed to develop udders due to her state of malnutrition.
Officers instructed staff at a nearby cattle mart to feed the animals, which were later successfully auctioned with the proceeds of sale going to the council, the court was told.
Cameron, 72, appeared for sentence after pleading guilty in March this year to causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
Cameron’s lawyer said he had been a farmer for more than 50 years and had never previously been involved in such an incident. He said Cameron still had 13 cattle and there were no issues or concerns in respect of them.
He said Cameron had been keeping the animals in a field before they were transported to Ireland, but that had been delayed.
Cameron said he had arranged for someone to give the cattle supplementary feed and silage, but that ceased between April and June 2023.
Cameron’s lawyer said: “It was perhaps ‘out of sight, out of mind’ from his point of view.”
He added: “There was exceptional weather at the time, which didn’t assist.”
At last month’s hearing, Cameron had been warned that “imprisonment was a possibility”.
However, on 23 April Sheriff William Gilchrist imposed a fine of £1040. He said it had been up to Cameron to see that the cattle received supplementary feeding.
He said: “It was his responsibility to ensure that was happening, and he failed in that responsibility”.
Sheriff Gilchrist said he would not make any order preventing Cameron from continuing to deal in cattle, given the number of years he had been involved without previous incident.
