JAYWICK WOMAN LOSES BID TO KEEP PONY AFTER ANIMAL CRUELTY CHARGE
Julia Blowes, aged 56, from Jasmin Way, Jaywick, was involved in a legal case concerning her Welsh pony named Libby.She was charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal in 2023, after her pony was allegedly found to be underweight.
The RSPCA seized Libby and has been caring for her for the past 18 months, which has cost the charity thousands of pounds.
Blowes denies the animal cruelty charges and is scheduled to stand trial in 2026.
During a hearing at Colchester Magistrates’ Court, the prosecution's representative, Robert Batchelor, explained that the cost of caring for Libby was accumulating in the thousands each month and suggested that the horse would be better off with private owners and other horses.
Blowes, who represented herself, expressed her emotional connection to Libby, stating, “She’s just a very big part of my life – I wasn’t even able to say goodbye.
All I was doing was trying to get her better.
She is not a pound sign to me – she’s my baby.
She’s been a big part through everything – through my dad dying, through my partner dying.
You might think I’m just silly, but I don’t know of her as a pound sign.” The judge, District Judge Williams, acknowledged that Libby was the subject of criminal proceedings, indicating the investigations involved criminal treatment allegations.
The court was persuaded that Libby should be transferred to a new owner, as it could not remain with the RSPCA until the scheduled trial in 2026.
Blowes left the courtroom emotional and in tears.
