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A prize-winning farmer has been fined for causing cruelty to his sheep.

Samuel Rogers, 24, of Advent, near Camelford, pleaded guilty at Bodmin Magistrates Court on 7 November 2019 to causing cruelty to sheep, failing to dispose of sheep carcases and failing to provide a suitable environment for livestock.

Cornwall Council visited the farm and other land farmed by Rogers in April having issued him with a caution for similar offences in 2018.

Animal health inspectors and a vet from the Government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency found more than 30 sheep and lamb carcases and two emaciated ewes.

The inspection team also found that livestock had access to sharp items and trailing wire and movement record discrepancies in Rogers' paperwork.

He pleaded guilty to failing to dispose of a lamb carcase and 19 sheep carcases, causing unnecessary suffering to two emaciated ewes, failing to provide a suitable environment for sheep and cattle and failing to complete an annual sheep flock inventory.

Magistrates fined Rogers and ordered him to pay full costs. In total he has to pay £6,184.

Cornwall Council’s Trading Standards manager Jane Tomlinson said: “Rogers has been given a lot of advice over the last 18 months and unfortunately he has failed to act upon it. He is a young man who has won prizes for his sheep at local shows this summer, but unfortunately this is not reflected in his farming practices on a larger scale.”

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Stuart Benson, head of Service, Business Standards and Registration with Cornwall Council said: “Cornwall Council officers work to assist farmers, small holders and businesses across Cornwall in complying with the relevant legislation. However, where officers find repeated non-compliance, the Council will take formal action to protect the reputation of the Cornish farming industry and protect livestock.”