Judge cites RSPCA's 'hidden agenda' after owner cleared

Vets said they told the charity there were no welfare issues involved

- ELEANOR JONES

A JUDGE has accused the RSPCA of having a "hidden agenda", as he cleared an owner of charges her vets said should never have been brought.

Judge Pattinson found Kirsten Fock innocent of all charges brought by the RSPCA, at Aldershot Magistrates Court on 6 December after a trial.

The charity seized 24 of her horses last October; two were put down on the spot - "because they said otherwise they'd kill them after they'd taken them," Ms Fock told H&H - and more soon afterwards.

By 9 December, Ms Fock, represented by Kate Chidgey from Bedford Row chambers, had not been told when nine horses would be returned; the others may have been rehomed.

"This case has caused an enormous amount of distress to the defendant," Judge Pattinson said. "Two [horses], Tanne and Lavinia, were euthanised by Dr Marques, the defendant's own vet, because the alternative was being taken away by the RSPCA on an uncomfortable journey with inevitable death at the end of it. The defendant felt that she had no choice."

An RSPCA officer visited Ms Fock on 3 October 2023, returning on 6 October with vets appointed by the RSPCA, and the horses were seized.

The first charge referred partly to 32-year-old Anjuska, whom the RSPCA vet said was "very lame", although her treating vet was comfortable with her treatment.

"Sadly, Anjuska died within a day or two of seizure by the RSPCA following routine dental treatment and choke," the judge said. "[Expert vet witness David] Rendle's opinion was that there was no other explanation than a ruptured oesophagus, caused by treatment by RSPCA vets. The implication is that she might still be alive if not seized by the RSPCA."