THE man who was found guilty of neglecting five horses in a field near Helensburgh has insisted: "I'm the victim."
Perparim Tahiraj posted a string of comments on the Advertiser's Facebook page last week after we published a report of the court case against him – and the reaction of the Scottish SPCA to his conviction.
Mr Tahiraj insisted that it was "normal" for horses to lose weight in the winter, and said he and his family had been "victims of racism".
He also claimed the court case was a "campaign" by "people with power" including local government and the police.
READ MORE: Friends describe 'heartbreak' of Blairvadach horse neglect case
His comments included the following:
* "I was harassed by the SSPCA for four years, and all your comments are prejudiced."
* "My fate brought me to Helensburgh. My oh my, I found the living hell. Something is wrong with people here, from every corner is spread hate. Not everyone, some people are great."
* "The horses were fed twice a day. My horses were fed organic food, and in the winter it is normal to lose a bit of weight. The SSPCA was forced by crown prosecutors to take my case to court. Not only the horses, but all animals, never would be neglected by me, so all of this was a campaign by professional bodies including the local government, police [and] people with power. Don’t you think I’m the winner, standing up to people abusing their power and the democratic law."
* "Everything was a campaign against me. I was remanded for five weeks in jail for doing nothing, so nobody could look after the horses. I told the SSPCA to take the horses as I was not allowed to enter any field in Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire by the court. I leave it to you to be the judge – I’m proud of who I am, so some people are not happy about it. I love animals, I don’t like people who dislike me."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, Argyll and Bute and Bute Council says that Tahiraj ignored all attempts by the local authority to get him to remove his horses from their land.
The five animals which were at the centre of last week’s court case were all kept in a field on the Blairvadach estate without the authority’s permission.
The field in question is located near the B-listed Blairvadach House, which was home to the local authority’s planning, building control and estates department from March 1998 until the opening of the new Helensburgh and Lomond Civic Centre in East Clyde Street in March 2016.
READ MORE: Charity hails five-year ban for Helensburgh horse neglect man
The building, and surrounding land, are still owned by the council, although a report to Helensburgh and Lomond councillors in December revealed that a ‘preferred bidder’ had been identified for a development of up to 112 new homes on the site, which extends to eight hectares.
A council spokesperson told the Advertiser: “The horses at Blairvadach were placed there by their owner in 2018 without the council’s permission.
“The owner refused to remove the horses. The council raised court proceedings in Dumbarton Sheriff Court, and was successful in having the court grant orders requiring the owner to remove the horses and preventing them from being returned to the council-owned land.
READ MORE: Plans for 112 new homes at Blairvadach move a step closer
“The owner of the horses did not comply with court orders to remove the horses from Blairvadach and the council took steps to identify a mechanism to enforce the court order.
“However, while this process was ongoing, the horses were removed by the SSPCA on welfare grounds.”
Surveys of the site’s suitability for housing were due to take place in the early weeks of this year; councillors were advised in December that the outcome of those surveys was likely to determine the shape of a formal planning application to build new homes on the land.
A previous attempt to sell the site fell through in 2018 after the council decided that terms set by a would-be buyer were not acceptable to the authority.
READ MORE: Check out all the latest Helensburgh and Lomond news headlines here
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