Cruel Kintyre farmer's donkey neglect was the worst animal rescue officer had seen

A farmer whose neglect case was the worse a Scottish SPCA inspector has ever dealt with has been banned from owning donkeys and horses for ten years.

Inspectors from the Scottish SPCA raided Albert Sauer’s remote property in March 2019 following an anonymous and found 11 donkeys had been neglected. Most had badly deformed feet and struggled to walk and two had to be put to sleep.

Last month, Sauer, 86, of Kilkenzie, near Campbeltown, who admitted a string of offences at previous court appearances, was given a £300 fine and ten-year ban on owning horses or donkeys. He had earlier

pled guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to eight donkeys under Section 19 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 in September 2020.

Eleven donkeys were in very poor condition and two had to be put to sleep. (pic: SSPCA)

Sauer admitted failing to provide adequate foot care for the donkeys and the remaining nine are now in the care of international animal welfare charity, The Donkey Sanctuary.

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In mitigation the court heard Sauer was a caring man who was upset by what happened to the donkeys. He had difficulty in arranging a farrier to attend and believed he was providing care for the donkeys but struggled because he had a fixed income pension.

Scottish SPCA inspector Yvonne Inglis, who led the investigation, said: “This is without a doubt the worst case of equine neglect I’ve come across.

Painful: The donkey's hooves were overgrown. (pic:SSPCA)

“Eight of the donkeys had severely overgrown feet that only developed because they had gone untreated for a prolonged period of time. All it would have taken to save these donkeys from months of pain and suffering was regular foot trimming from a farrier. The state of the hooves led to severe lameness and two having to be put to sleep. There is no justification for allowing the health of these poor donkeys to deteriorate to this point.”

She added: “Thankfully for the other donkeys involved, The Donkey Sanctuary stepped in to offer support and have been providing them with care and treatment in the right environment. They are all in a much better, happier place now and we’re proud to work with our animal welfare partners to do the best we can by every animal we rescue.”

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Hannah Bryer, Head of Welfare at The Donkey Sanctuary, said: “Cases like these are extremely distressing and highlight the terrible neglect that sadly some donkeys continue to experience in Great Britain today. Owning donkeys is a hugely rewarding experience and a wonderful privilege.

A new life at The Donkey Sanctuary (pic: SSPCA)

“Donkeys require caring and compassionate management to ensure they lead healthy and enriched lives. Donkeys are incredibly stoic animals by their nature, often the true extent of their suffering is misunderstood, however there is no doubt in this case that the suffering and pain endured by these donkeys would have been noticeable to anyone.

“Our welfare team continue to work to improve the lives of donkeys and mules in our communities through expert advice, guidance and support.

“It has been a long process to return the nine donkeys back to full health. All of them required special diets to build their weight back up and they also required farrier and dental treatment too.

“The donkeys are now getting used to being handled by their dedicated grooms and will continue to receive the highest level of care and attention that they deserve.”

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