THREE former slaughterhouse bosses accused of breaching animal welfare legislation after a vet complained about the treatment of a cow have won a High Court appeal.

But a fourth former boss of the B Riley & Sons slaughterhouse in Dunnockshaw, Burnley, which has since changed ownership, has lost his appeal.

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Geoff Riley, Michael Riley and Kevin Riley were not at the slaughterhouse two years ago when the vet complained about the cow’s treatment.

At a hearing at Blackburn Magistrates Court last year it was alleged Geoff, Michael and Kevin were convicted of failing to take such steps as were reasonable in all the circumstances to prevent an animal for which they was responsible, namely a bovine, from suffering unnecessarily by failing to stop the continued handling and movement of the said bovine using ropes.

A fourth man Stephen Riley was alleged to have caused unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, namely a bovine, by failing to stop the continued handling and movement of the said bovine using ropes, when he knew or ought reasonably to have known that the continued act would have that effect of causing unnecessary suffering to the said animal.

District Judge James Clarke heard at the time the matter concerned a cow in a slaughterhouse operated by B Riley & Sons of which Geoff, Michael and Kevin and Stephen were all partners.

It was alleged that while being moved from a holding pen to a separate room where it would be stunned and then killed, the cow fell in a confined space known as the ‘race’.

The court was told Stephen was the manager on site and told staff to attempt to raise the cow, using a combination of pulling and the use of ropes.

The court heard a vet said the cow should be killed and bled in the race. The prosecution case was that the attempts to raise and move the cow caused unnecessary suffering.

Judges at the High Court heard Geoff, Michael and Kevin had been prosecuted on the basis that they were partners in the business and had ‘failed to prevent’ an animal suffering unnecessarily.

Geoff, Michael and Kevin complained that the Crown Prosecution Service had been wrong to pursue such a case against them, and Lord Justice Gross and Mrs Justice Andrews upheld their appeals and terminated proceedings against them.

The judges said the CPS case was that the three men were ‘criminally liable’ for the alleged acts of another person.

They said the case was ‘unsustainable’ against Geoff, Michael and Kevin.

But Stephen’s appeal was rejected. He had argued the proceedings were not brought in time, the proceedings were an abuse of the magistrates court’s process, the CPS failed to provide enough evidence unnecessary suffering was caused and evidence in relation to an alleged push was ruled inadmissible when it shouldn’t have been.