Animal welfare chiefs alerted about a dying cow near Market Harborough - but took ten days to act

WARNING: Some people might find the following video and photos distressing.

A shocked eye-witness alerted animal welfare chiefs about a dying cow in a village near Market Harborough a full 10 days before they acted.

The “distraught” local man tipped off the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on Friday February 25 that the whole herd being kept in a mid-choked field in Clipston was “emaciated and uncared for”.

And he spoke to an APHA officer for over 40 minutes on Monday February 28 as he spelled out the cows’ terrible plight.

But it wasn’t until last Monday (March 7) that agency staff backed up by an RSPCA officer and an independent vet finally went out to examine and assess the animals on land off the Sibbertoft road in Clipston.

The cow was then finally put to sleep.

We broke the distressing story in the Harborough Mail on Wednesday (March 9) after a horrified woman driving past sent us pictures of the doomed cow.

Click on this link to read the full story: Shocking pictures taken by driver show a dying cow choked with thick mud near HarboroughThe man who raised the alarm a fortnight ago told us today: “I cannot believe that it took the Animal and Plant Health Agency 10 days to go out and see to this poor cow.

“What were they doing and waiting for in the meantime for heaven’s sake?

“I did what I could to help this very unfortunate cow and the rest of the bedraggled starving herd.

“But I can’t force the Government department supposed to be looking after farm livestock and maintaining proper standards of welfare to actually go out and do their job,” said the villager, who asked not to be named.

“The people who work for this official agency are all funded by us as taxpayers.

“So why are they not doing the critically-important jobs that we pay them to do?

“I decided to get in touch with you after reading your story in the Mail earlier this week.

“It’s absolutely scandalous.

“I contacted the Animal and Plant Health Agency at 8.56pm on Friday February 25.

“I was out walking with my girlfriend and we spotted these wretched cows in this pathetic excuse for a field.

“It was so muddy that the cow in the pictures couldn’t move, she was totally stuck.

“It was heart-breaking to see,” he said.

“I can’t abide wilful neglect or animal cruelty of any type.

“So I reported what we’d seen and told them where this herd was.

“I got a reply from someone in APHA’s customer service team at 9.09am on Monday February 28.

“She asked me for details about if the beasts had access to food/water/shelter and a dry lying area, etc.

“So I rang them straight up and spoke to an officer there for over 46 minutes.

“I gave them chapter and verse about just how bad the situation was there and made it clear that these cows needed help urgently.

“They promised to investigate.

“And I expected them to do it straight away.

“So to read in the Mail that this helpless cow was still lying there in the mud and the filth as her life ebbed away a week later has shocked me to the core,” he said.

“It’s a total disgrace.

“These cows were so emaciated, so starved, that I could see their bones sticking out.

“It’s inhumane, it’s cruel and it’s intolerable.

“No animal should have to endure this level of suffering and distress.

“The farmer has to be brought to task, they shouldn’t be looking after livestock full stop.

“And the people at the Animal and Plant Health Agency have got some serious questions to answer as well because their response has been appalling.”

Asked to respond to the criticism this afternoon, an APHA spokeswoman again refused to discuss the incident.

She simply referred us back to the statement they gave us earlier this week: “We take potential breaches of animal welfare legislation very seriously and APHA investigates all allegations.

“Where welfare regulations are breached, appropriate action is taken.”

She said they won’t comment on individual cases and refused to say if action is being taken against the local farmer involved.

A stunned motorist took these photos in the article of the fatally-ill cow as she drove through Clipston on Monday morning (March 7).

The animal lay on its side unable to move but can be seen poignantly blinking her eyes in a video the driver took of her sickening plight.

“It was horrible.

“I was driving along Chapel Lane in Clipston when I suddenly spotted this cow just lying there in the thick mud.

“The animal was lying on its side inches from the railing and just feet from the road,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous.

“The field was full of deep mud and I couldn’t see any grass for the animals to eat.

“I jumped out of the car and walked over fearing the worst thinking the cow was already dead.

“But the poor thing was still barely breathing and wheezing away and shaking.

“I was horrified, it was just awful.

“So I took these pictures and the video to record this cow’s hellish ordeal.

“No animal, whether it’s your pet or farm livestock, should have to suffer and die like that,” she said.

“It was horrific.

“The farmer who owns this cow should be ashamed.

“We are dealing with blatant neglect here at best and cruelty at worst.

“I’m just pleased I didn’t have my grandchildren with me in the car – they’d have been distraught.

“Other drivers slowed down and looked at this dying cow after I stopped.

“They were just as shocked and upset as I was – but they didn’t seem particularly surprised.”

The RSPCA also declined to comment, saying that the Animal and Plant Health Agency were leading the investigation into this case.