CONVICTED (2022) | Russell Whitehead, born c. 1988, of the Black Horse Inn, 2 Top Street, Appleby Magna, Swadlincote DE12 7AH – left a horse to starve until she became “skin and bones”. Russell Whitehead (right) with husband Dale Whitehead The horse called Paris was neglected by Russell Whitehead, who runs the Black Horse Inn with husband Dale Whitehead, for at least the last four months of her life. Whitehead said the pressures of running his business had got on top of him and long-term staff sickness meant he had less and less time to care for the horse. Whitehead pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering and failing to protect the animal from harm. The RSPCA was alerted to Paris’s plight after photographs of her poor condition were posted on social media. Inspector Harlock attended the location on February 19, 2022, and was met by the police. A number of the members of the public were also at the location. Whitehead approached the officer and explained he was responsible for the horse. He said he had been ‘gifted’ the thoroughbred mare. He had informed the owner of Paris – who then also attended the location to remove the horse from his care. The owner transported the horse to an equine clinic where vets examined her and provide the necessary care. Inspector Harlock later said: “I went over to Paris and even with her rug on I could see her hip bones and that she had no muscle on her neck. With help from the police officers we moved her away from the other two ponies and removed her rug. I could see she was extremely underweight, she had no muscle on her body, all her ribs and hip bones were visible.” A report by an expert vet who examined Paris concluded that: “There was no evidence that the horse was emaciated due to any other cause than inadequate consumption of nutrition. The chronic lack of nutrition led to catabolism of body fat and muscle. “The neglect of preventative routine health care was evident in all aspects; foot trimming, dental care and basic grooming. The time period of suffering to get into this condition would be at least four months, more likely six months or more. The teeth appeared not to have been rasped for at least 12 months.” Tragically although Paris had started to show signs of improvement she had to be put to sleep after she developed colic a few days later. Sentencing | 18-month community order with 300 hours unpaid work; £295 in costs and charges. Banned from keeping all animals for life. Staffordshire Live