Two in court after animals found starved at £4m Yorkshire mansion

Pamela Palmer, 70, and Joseph Palmer, 30, were charged with animal cruelty offences after the RSPCA discovered the cattle and sheep at Sheriff Hutton Park, Sheriff Hutton, North Yorkshire.

Inspectors found carcasses of cattle in an old swimming pool at the grade one listed hall, five dead sheep in a derelict coaching house and a lame Hereford bull and cow that were so badly injured they had to be put down, Selby Magistrates Court heard.

Mrs Palmer, of no fixed address, today pleaded guilty to three offences of causing unnecessary suffering to a bull, causing unnecessary suffering to a cow and causing unnecessary suffering to five sheep by failing to provide care and supervision, resulting in their death.

When the charges were put to the defendant, who appeared in court wearing a tweed jacket and walking with the aid of two crutches, she replied: “I don’t think I am guilty but I’m going to plead guilty.”

Mr Palmer, of Tingley, West Yorkshire, was convicted in his absence at an earlier court hearing.

Each of the defendants were today sentenced to 18 weeks in jail suspended for 12 months and banned from keeping cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses and donkeys for life.

Mr Palmer was also ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work.

Inspectors were called after the house and 200-acre estate was repossessed in April 2010.

Philip Brown, prosecuting, told the court the sheep appeared to have starved to death in the coaching house and had eaten soil due to the lack of access to food and water.

The bull was found to have been suffering from severe arthritis for several months and the cow had an abscess on its foot, which was also thought to be a long-standing injury. Both animals were put down by a vet.

Mr Brown added: “It appeared a number of cattle carcasses had attempted to be burned at the premises or buried in a swimming pool which had been turned into a slurry dump.”

Kate Raitt, defending, said both Mrs Palmer and her son, who are from a long-standing farming background, believed they were doing their best for the livestock and had never had any problems with other animals on the farm, which included 180 sheep, horses, donkeys, cats and dogs.

Mrs Palmer, who has looked after livestock since she was 17, had a large farm in Australia with tens of thousands of ewes, and kept a farm in Hereford for 43 years.

They were aware of the problems with the bull and the cow but did not think the injuries were serious and gave treatment to the cow.

Miss Raitt said: “They’ve done their best, they’ve provided care without any incident to many animals. They believed what they were doing was the best.”

The solicitor told the court that Mrs Palmer, who was declared bankrupt in December 2010, had been making mortgage repayments on Sheriff Hutton Hall of £35,000 per month after making an agreement with “an organisation that was less than reputable”.

She has been living with friends and family and in motels since her home was repossessed.

She added that Mrs Palmer had experienced a “long, difficult history” on the farm, including livestock being stolen and stabbed, crosses daubed on her door in animal blood, headless sheep carcasses being left on her doorstep and the heads left on gateposts.

She also had problems with her health and claimed her family diamonds had recently gone missing.

Miss Raitt said: “This is a woman who has really lost everything.”

Sentencing the pair, Chair of the Bench Hilary Gilbertson said the sentences reflected the “abhorrence of the public to the treatment of the animals in your care in this way”.

Mrs Gilbertson added: “We acknowledge the gravity of the suffering caused to these animals.”

Mrs Palmer was ordered to pay £500 costs, while her son will pay £1,000.