'Cruel' farmer banned from keeping sheep

A farmer has been convicted of cruelty and banned from keeping sheep after he neglected dozens of his animals.

Nigel Turner, 56, of Ryme Intrinseca near Sherborne, Dorset, pleaded guilty to 19 offences at Weymouth Magistrates' Court last month.

Following a site visit, the investigating officer found 140 sheep on a field with very little grazing and no evidence of supplemental food.

Councillor Gill Taylor, Dorset Council's public health chief, said: "This was an appalling and shocking case of animal neglect, and we will not tolerate such acts of cruelty."

A visit in January 2025 found the sheep to be kept in "awful" conditions, with many appearing emaciated and 11 were deceased.

The investigator also found one lamb in a water-filled ditch and two ewes close to death.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) found one of the distressed ewes had to be euthanised and the lamb later died during examination.

The vet told the sheep's owner to provide immediate care and shelter to a ewe that was unable to stand.

However, when the vet and trading standards returned, the ewe had not been moved and had died.

They returned to the field in February 2025 and found further welfare issues.

Many of the sheep were still emaciated and well below an acceptable condition, while several were not ear tagged which is a legal requirement.

Turner was asked to provide movement and medicine records for the sheep but failed to do so.

The court imposed a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered Turner to pay a £154 victim surcharge, plus £500 contribution towards the prosecution costs within 56 days.

He was also banned for owning or keeping sheep for two years.

Taylor said: "The vast majority of livestock keepers in Dorset care passionately about their animals and so it is very disappointing and frustrating when cases like this happen."