Former Doncaster teacher jailed for neglecting Shetland ponies

A retired teacher “deliberately and cruelly” neglected 19 miniature Shetland ponies that had failed to make the county show limit.

Janet Marr, 73, admitted three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and breaching the duty of a person responsible for an animal to ensure its welfare.

Sheffield Crown Court heard that her neglect between May and July 2023 was so bad that eight of her ponies had to be put down.

Marr, of Sandall Park Drive, Doncaster, was jailed for 12 months on Tuesday.

The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson, KC, banned Marr from having or keeping animals indefinitely.

The court heard she had previously been given a written warning for neglecting her Shetland ponies in June 2020.

In July 2023, the charity World Horse Welfare received a report from a member of the public concerned about horses kept on Marr’s land.

Charity and RSPCA officials visited the premises and found a “considerable” number of miniature Shetland ponies in a “state of distress”.

Several ponies had severely overgrown hooves and were showing symptoms consistent with laminitis, an extremely painful foot condition.

Several animals had also suffered from obesity, lice infestation and “significant” dental problems, the court heard.

None of the animals had been examined by a vet or seen by a farrier “for a long time”.

Housed separately from the neglected ponies were two others that Marr stated had competed in various competitions around the region.

Judge Richardson told the court: “In stark contrast to the other horses at the scene, there does not appear to be any problem with any of these animals.”

He said the animals for the show were well cared for, but those that did not qualify were “abandoned to their fate”.

In total, eight horses had to be put down and the remaining 11 were rehomed.

The court heard that there was no issue of poverty and that Marr stated how he wanted to give the ponies “one more summer”.

Judge Richardson said the notion “almost defies belief”, adding: “You have given those ponies another summer of neglect and, in more cases, a summer of agony.”

He told the defendant that her offense was so serious that only an immediate prison sentence could be justified.

“You have visited terrible cruelty on those Shetland ponies,” he said. “At the time, you presented yourself as a responsible and caring rider – you were nothing of the sort. You were a cruel woman.”