Ronald Norcliffe, 65, kept the cow and its calf in a barn but had not provided adequate lighting, breaching the Animal Welfare Act.
Huddersfield magistrates heard that Mr Norciffe, who had been a farmer for 30 years, did not even have electricity in his own house.
Officers from Kirklees Environmental Health department and the Government’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) visited Norcliffe’s farm at Scammonden, West Yorks, in August 2008 to carry out tuberculosis tests.
While there, they asked where Mr Norcliffe intended to keep his cows in winter. When he said he would use a barn underneath his house, he was told it was unsuitable because it had little natural light, no electric lights and the doors were kept closed.
There were three follow-up visits but things did not improve.
Carol English, prosecuting, said: “He said the cattle were fine and he always kept them this way. He wouldn’t keep the doors open as it was too cold. He said he would have lights fitted on a generator.”
An improvement notice was served on Norcliffe by a DEFRA vet, ordering him to improve the lighting.
But on two further visits the lights were not switched on.
Bob Carr, representing Norcliffe, ridiculed the Kirklees Council prosecution.
He said: “I don’t know what the psychological or ethological needs of these cows are and I’m sure Mr Norcliffe doesn’t either.
“I still have no idea how much lighting is appropriate for a cow – and this man, who has had 30 years of farming experience and is keeping these animals healthy, is none the wiser.
“In my respectful submission this didn’t do any harm whatsoever.”
As well as the fine, Norcliffe was ordered to pay £50 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. However, he was not stopped from keeping cattle.
The council defended the prosecution, the first it has brought under the Animal Welfare Act in nine years. A spokesman said: “Our animal health and welfare officers paid several visits to Mr Norcliffe and worked hard to find simple, low-cost solutions – some as simple as cleaning windows and
trimming back bushes obscuring the windows which could have been easily introduced.
“We offered help and advice, but Mr Norcliffe failed to improve conditions for his livestock.”
Anna is the landlady of the Raccoon Arms. She lives in the Monbazillac area of South West France and still takes a keen interest in British politics.
{ 66 comments }
The council deserve a pat on the back……
Oh, very amoosing.
I thought you might be milking this one Glo.
The Vet took one look and said this poor Cow is fresian, get her inside where it is warm.
You cudn’t make it up, cud you?
Is it April 1st?
This has to be a joke, right?
(Some of my cows were complaining it’s too bright, so I’ve bought them all sunglasses, as turning the lights off would contravene the regulations. They wanted the sun turned down too, but don’t believe me when I tell them that’s out of my reach.)
I’ll knit the poor fresian cow a Jersey, shall I?
Pull the udder one Glo, it’s got cow bells on it
The bales, the bales ….!
I expect you’re going to come up with some terrible puns Saul – I wouldn’t put it pasture.
Gulp! I have left myself open to the apostrophe police.
I’ll try and churn some out.
Comma gain?
On filling up Cleopatra’s bath with milk the hand maiden asked…
Do you want it pasteurised?
She replied “just up to my chin will do”
I’ll get me coat.
And I’ll get me goat. Just kidding!
No buts, its got to be a butter.
How did I know that you two would be chewing the cud over this one?
I’ve heard that one beefore.
Yogourt feeling, I suppose Anna!
The pshychiatrist said the cow was full of angust.
We’ve been rumbled Glo, lets get the flock out of here.
I reckon you could milk it some more Saul, stay put!
You herd her Saul …
Udder no cirmcumstances are you to leave Saul.
That’s a moot point
Methane-ks we’d butter do as she says, Saul …
You make me cow’s calf – the pair of you.
That methane could be used to shed some light in.. err… the shed.
I wondered if we were low-ering the tone of the blog slightly ..
Are you suggesting we are writing tripe?
Some of it’s fairly offal so far.
If we can stomach this, we can stomach anything.
I think we should put this one out to grass.
If we steer clear of any bull, we might be able to yak on like this for hours..
We may have just grazed the surface.
Combined harvesting of puns.
We certainly seem to have put together a tractor two.
Just hope I don’t get one of those John Deere letters.
I’d steak my last farthing on us being able to knuckle down and chuck out a few more…
Just hope I don
Spare me the ribbing.
Alright, chuck.
Cod we swap to the fish puns now, This is bullocks.
Stop egging me on.
Fish puns? Of coarse.
Sabot! At last! Someone who can do joined-up whiting!
BTW, just how bullocks, on a scale of 1 – 10?
Skating on fin ice there Glo.
I seem to have a bit of a tense, nervous haddock coming on.
Hope I don’t get one of those John Dory letters….
What’s this? A run of painfully-weak cow puns stopped in its tracks by the teasing suggestion that Sabot might join in a fish-based pun-fest? Bovine-based pun-run duly switched to matters more fishy, only for Sabot to vanish?
I think we’ve been Sabot-aged.
I would just like to point out,that this is a dolphin friendly thread. Before we start getting any of those John West letters
Ah Ha. Another Red Herring. The chips are down, I see.
Just as a matter of interest, my kitchen is what was the cow byre, which was inside the house, next to to one roomed living quarters. It faces due North and never gets any light. Why isn’t someone banging on my door to worry about my permanent lack of light ray?
But then I’m just a crabby old trout.
Sabot. Dear Sabot. So good to see you on the grid. I suspect you have much to heifer in the pun-stakes and feel sure you could keep the twaddle mooving on at a stable pace.
Am I mistaken or did the conversation stall briefly earlier on? And where’s Saul gone? Don’t tell me he’s buried under a tuna fan-mail?
So sorry, Anna, about hogging the thread – it’s just a meating of minds – maybe you should moove this thread lower down the pecking order so that we don’t put the rest of the herd off; after all, don’t they say that you have to speculate to ruminate? Shove us and our silly moosings right to the back at the site, but don’t be cross.
After all, to err is human, to forgive … bovine.
Oh, and I forgot to say I’ve just received a John, John, the Goose has Gone letter.
I’m bewildered and obviously mixing with lunatics.
This is a joke? Come on pull the udder one.
It’s 55 posts’ worth of hoof-hearted nonsense so far. Anna finds stories like this and I’m not sure why.
Sometimes I think she puts them up just so that one or two of us will post rapid-fire rubbish at each other. In fact it’s happening so often I’m going to start keeping a dairy so I can keep a record of it. I hope she hasn’t been deliberately trying to make me look like a stupid cow..
Think she might have. Actually was expecting your [plural] rapid-firing just when I saw the title of the article. And I got what I expected. Only … could you explain the “I
It’s just from a silly song Ch
I just had to try to top Saul’s John West letter (John West, a brand of tinned salmon).
Sorry.
Oh, Dear John. Or did I mean Smudd? Those of us who frequent this Bog obviously don’t have a serious brain cell between us.
THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE ARE STUPID.
We are just irreverant. However, do Rollmop on.
So did the farmer shed any light on why he shed no light in the shed?
Those were some pretty cool puns. I bow to all of you.
I would join in, but sadly I have no sense of tuna.
Just checked in again. And have to say, that apart from having a big smile, I’m grateful to you Gloria et al for improving me English …
If only I could make that kind of jokes meself …
Tell you what? I’ll teach you Dutch!
On that note, I bid you all good night
I’m off the the classical silken sheets
PS: If my information is correct it is Salmon, not Tuna
Look now, it is just a fish net of rubbish. Who cares if your average cow gets enough litght? I eould always be more concerned if the bloody cow was warm enough come Winter..
But I don’t think that this is what we are talking about. Is it?
I think we should all become vegetarians overnight, and kill every domestic animal on the Planet. Except for my dog. But he is old any way.
What I want to know is what is the
Whats a victim surcharge? Isn’t it a tax to fund an initiative to provide support for victims of crime?
If so, what did they buy the cow? Or did the money go straight on 100% human victim of crime support? If so its a scandal lol!