Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeenshire farmer tells trial he ‘misses’ the animals he is accused of causing suffering

Post Thumbnail

An Aberdeenshire farmer accused of causing cattle and dogs in his care suffering has told a court he “misses” the animals seized by authorities.

The trial of William Cassie entered its sixth day at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday, with the accused taking to the witness box to give evidence.

Authorities seized the 63-year-old’s cattle and dogs after visits to farms across the north-east in December 2018.

Animal welfare experts found cattle dead, or needing to be put down, at his lifelong home at Portstown Farm in Keithhall, and Mill of Kinmuck near Ellon, during visits.

Inspectors alleged that the animals were malnourished, emaciated, left untreated for various ailments and given dirty water to drink.

One calf, found in a very small trailer in a dark shed at Kinmuck, was euthanised, with a vet on the scene earlier telling the trial it was weak from days, if not weeks, of undernourishment.

But Cassie, under examination by his advocate David Moggach, told the court it had been born very early on the morning of the inspection, and taken inside away from stormy weather.

“It was new born, I assisted with the labour at around 2am or 3am.

“I lifted the mother into the shed with straps and left it there where they said it was left to die.

“But I left it where there was most shelter. It was traumatised from the calfing.

“I left a voicemail with the vet but was unsuccessful in getting one to come out.”

Earlier, Animal And Plant Health Agency worker Paul Eddington admitted he “would have to accept” the calf in the trailer could have been only hours old.

The farmer also told Mr Moggach he “quite missed” his two dogs seized by authorities, which, 16 or 17 at the time of being seized, he had been with every day since they were puppies.

The adult cow, found lying tangled in the lifting harness in the dark in the shed at Kinmuck, was put down.

The Crown is no longer be seeking convictions for two of the initial 12 charges brought against Cassie.

Allegations that the farmer failed to notify government bodies of the death of animals on Portstown Farm and Mains of Moncoffer Farm in Macduff, have been dropped.

Cassie denies all charges against him. Nine relate to care of animals kept at Portstown and Mill of Kinmuck, as well as Lower Wanford Farm in Alvah.

The Crown further alleges Cassie was racially abusive to an Italian vet visiting his farm.

The trial, in front of Sheriff Margaret Hodge, will continue in April.