RESIDENTS have described the “heartbreak” of watching the deteriorating condition of five horses which were kept unlawfully and in miserable conditions in a field near Helensburgh.

Perparim Tahiraj, who owned Al, Africa, Cinderella, Song and Tia, was banned from keeping horses for five years after he was convicted of two charges of animal neglect last week.

The 48-year-old, of Williamson Drive in Helensburgh, was found guilty by Sheriff John Hamilton after a three-day trial at Dumbarton Sheriff Court, and was ordered to be of good behaviour for six months.

He failed to obtain veterinary advice and treatment for three of the horses, and failed to provide adequate shelter, a secure enclosure, adequate nutrition and adequate grass for all five, as well as exposing them to “inappropriate surfaces, thorns and wire”.

The offences were committed in a field on the Blairvadach estate in Shandon during a six-week period in November and December of 2018.

READ MORE: Helensburgh man found guilty of horse neglect charges after three-day trial

The horses were eventually removed by Scottish SPCA inspectors just after Christmas that year, after Tahiraj told the charity he would no longer be attending to the animals.

They were taken to the charity’s rescue centres in Balerno, near Edinburgh, and Aberdeen, and, according to the charity, have all since been found new homes.

A spokesperson for an informal group of concerned residents, the ‘Friends of Blairvadach Horses’, spoke to the Advertiser this week on condition of anonymity, stating they feared reprisals if they were identified publicly.

They said the issue of horses ‘fly grazing’ on the council-owned Blairvadach site dated back to 2015, but that the Friends stepped up their own efforts to look after the animals, due to their poor condition, in September 2018.

The spokesperson said: “It was at this time the Friends stepped up their support for the horses and ponies, spending many hundreds of pounds on feed, hay, fruit and veg, and delivering this to Blairvadach every two days or so throughout October-December 2018.

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“The Friends sought advice and support from Horse Rescue Scotland (HRS), World Horse Welfare and others. HRS’s guidance and legal knowledge in particular was invaluable, leading to several approaches to the authorities involved.

“Thankfully the ‘Blairvadach Five’ were finally removed by the Scottish SPCA on December 28, 2018.

“Some of the ‘Friends’ had known the animals for many years and had grown very fond of them.

“For anyone who cared about these horses and ponies it was heart-breaking over many months watching their condition deteriorate, more and more of their ribs showing, and knowing they had no shelter and often nothing to eat but plants like rhododendrons, ragwort, oak leaves, bracken and yew, that are poisonous for horses and can lead to liver and kidney failure and, at worst, a painful death.”

Scottish SPCA inspector Gillian Dick, who gave evidence on the first day of the trial, said: “We are happy to report that the horses survived their ordeal and have now found new homes with responsible owners who will be able to give them the care Mr Tahiraj failed to provide.”

The Advertiser first reported residents’ concerns in an article published in December 2018, following reports of horses escaping from a field in the area and being seen on the main road between Helensburgh and Faslane, prompting repeated calls to the Scottish SPCA and the police.

READ MORE: Authorities accused of 'sitting on their hands' over fly grazing of horses at Blairvadach

Peter McDonald, the chairman of Horse Rescue Scotland, said: “Our role was to provide help and guidance to the Friends on what they could do, and most importantly what they must not do.

“A window of opportunity opened up in the autumn of 2018 after we became aware that Mr Tahiraj had not been seen at the site for some weeks, because there is a specific offence under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act of 2006 that refers to the abandonment of animals.

“That provided a legal authority to act which had not been there before.”

Mr McDonald said new legislation is currently going through the Scottish Parliament which will increase the powers available to the authorities to punish people convicted of animal neglect offences, and make it easier to take action against suspected offenders.

However, Rhu and Shandon Community Council, which also raised concerns over the keeping of the horses on land at Blairvadach without permission, has been told specific legislation to tackle the issue of so-called ‘fly grazing’ is not likely.

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The community council’s secretary, Jean Cook, said: “We were concerned both about the state of the horses and the fly grazing that was going on at the site.

“The police were very good at responding to concerns raised by members of the public, but they were limited in what they could do.

“We contacted MSPs Jackie Baillie and Maurice Corry, who asked questions in the Scottish Parliament on the issue of fly grazing, but they were told the government had no plans to introduce legislation.”

Written questions on the subject were lodged at Holyrood by Ms Baillie on January 3, 2019, and by Mr Corry 11 days later, both asking whether the Scottish Government planned to follow the examples of their counterparts at UK level and in Wales by introducing specific legislation on the issue, which is covered in England and Wales by the Control of Horses Act 2015.

Mairi Gougeon, minister for rural affairs and the natural environment, said in a response to both questions, published on January 30 last year: “Fly-grazing is rarely reported in Scotland, unlike the situation in England and Wales; and we have not been alerted of a problem by either our stakeholders or local authorities.

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“We are, however, aware of an isolated case in the Argyll and Bute Council area.

“The Scottish Government takes the welfare of all animals extremely seriously and that welfare is provided for under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.

“The Scottish Government encourages those with concerns for the welfare of an animal, whether by reason of neglect or abandonment, to raise these concerns with the relevant local authority or the Scottish SPCA.”

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