Animals removed from Tivetshall farm

More than 30 cattle and two ponies have been removed from two sites in the Tivetshall area of south Norfolk after serious concerns were raised about their welfare.

Trading standards officials and vets have taken the animals, understood to belong to livestock farmer David Fryatt from Tivetshall St Mary, last week.

By the weekend, around a dozen cattle remain at one site but animal welfare experts are ensuring they are fed and watered.

Two ponies removed on Thursday are now being cared for by the Snetterton-based International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH). A spokeswoman for the charity said the ponies, which have been named Twinkle and Bertha, were both obese and found to have overgrown feet.

Jonathan Jackson, ILPH field officer, who attended the scene said: “The two ponies were taken as the conditions they were being kept in were totally unsuitable and they were likely to suffer as a result.

“However, when we finally removed them from the mud and they were examined by a vet it became clear that their feet were incredibly overgrown and they were in fact suffering. The mud was up to two feet in places which made recovery very difficult.

“The ponies have since had their feet trimmed and are being cared for in our isolation unit.”

A spokesman for Norfolk County Council's trading standards department said that action was taken by its officers and veterinary staff under the terms of the Animal Welfare Act following serious concerns about the condition of the animals and the conditions in which they were being kept.

David Baldry, assistant head of the county council's trading standards department, said: “A significant number of cattle and two ponies have been removed from fields in the course of the last couple of days and taken into our possession following assessment of their general condition by a vet.

“We are extremely grateful for the assistance of the ILPH, a local haulier who has helped us to remove the animals, and a local farmer who has been very helpful in successfully housing the cattle while our inquiries continue.

Mr Fryatt was unavailable for comment.