Carcass collector conviction upheld by Exeter Crown Court

A judge has dismissed an appeal by a South Devon-based licensed slaughter man and fallen stock collector who was convicted of offences under Animal By-Products regulations last month following an investigation by Devon County Council.

His Honour Judge Gilbert QC told Andrew Goatman, 33 of North Huish, South Brent, that he had already been dealt extremely leniently and there was no merit in his appeal. He ordered Mr Goatman to pay an additional £250 towards prosecution costs for the appeal, and warned that had it not been for the mitigation offed on his behalf, he would have had his sentence increased.

Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Trading Standards, said:

“The interests of Devon’s farming community are something we take very seriously, so I am pleased that the courts have upheld Mr Goatman’s conviction and found that he has no basis for an appeal.

"It is essential for both animal and human health as well as the monitoring of certain high priority public health issues like BSE, that the collection, disposal, recording and testing of such dead animals is done properly, that is why these laws exist.

“Upholding his conviction sends a clear message to those who take chances with public health and the welfare of farmed animals, and jeopardise the business interests of those who operate within the law.”

Mr Goatman pleaded guilty to two offences relating to TSE (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies) Regulations 2010 and two further offences relating to Animal By-Products Regulations (2011) at Exeter Magistrates Court in October. The offences occurred in January and April 2011. He was fined £535 and ordered to pay £1500 to the County Council as a proportion of the costs.

Following a number of complaints, Devon County Council launched their investigation into Mr Goatman’s activities in April 2011 when they were notified by a local rendering plant that he arrived in the middle of the night with a large amount of animal material that was so decomposed it was almost impossible to identify carcasses individually.

They found that Mr Goatman was using a former refuse collection vehicle to collect livestock carcasses and by-products mainly from local farmers, but was often delaying delivering carcasses to the rendering plants, sometimes by over two weeks.

The law requires animal carcasses to be disposed of without undue delay (accepted industry practice is that disposal should be within 48 hours.

Prosecutors told the court that his actions to reduce the number of deliveries he made, jumble different carcases together and keep them for a long period of time so that fewer trips to the factory were required saved him time and money in diesel costs and gave him a commercial advantage over his competitors.

It was also discovered that Mr Goatman failed to comply with his legal duty to submit cattle carcasses for brain stem testing for BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathies or mad cow disease) within the legal time limit. This testing is vital in the control and eradication of BSE in cattle. One carcass was never submitted.