A CRUEL father and daughter left pigs so hungry at their family farm that the tried to eat each other, a court heard.
Richard Scarfe, 44, had already been banned from owning animals so officially passed the running of the to his daughter Brogan, 26.
But a court heard she was unable to look after the animals properly because of her “lack of experience”;; and many went hungry.
Prosecutor Christian Jowett said that in a series of visits council inspectors found animals “severely underweight”;; or “in poor body condition”;; with no food or clean water.
On one visit officers found a pig trapped in a shed and squealing in pain and in a separate visit pigs were found in “direct contact”;; with two dead pigs.
The court heard another pig was missing part of both ears after they “appeared to have been chewed away”;; by others competing for food.
Vets were also concerned about cattle, dogs, and poultry at the farm in Lamphey, .
Swansea Crown Court heard Scarfe had previously been banned from keeping animals in 2022 but defied the ban and argued with inspectors during visits.
Richard Scarfe pleaded guilty to two offences of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and his daughter admitted failing to ensure the needs of an animal were met.
Scarfe, was given an 11-month suspended sentence, and a lifetime ban from keeping animals, while his daughter was handed a 12-month community order.
Speaking after the sentence, Pembrokeshire Councillor Jacob Williams, cabinet member for planning and regulatory services, said: “The lack of care shown to animals in this case was evident to both officers and veterinary experts and will unfortunately have resulted in needless suffering.
“Officers initially sought to offer guidance to secure improvements in welfare conditions, however, this wasn’t acted upon appropriately so the council had no alternative but to seek veterinary input and, ultimately, legal powers were used to take control of the animals to prevent further suffering.
“The fact that Mr Scarfe continued to keep animals, despite being disqualified from undertaking any activity of this sort, is clearly unacceptable and this was a clear factor in the poor standards of animal husbandry witnessed in this sad case.”;;
