A COW, trapped in barbed wire, was left to die, magistrates at Leominster were told.

The court heard that Hereford farmer Andrew Colin Bishop of Green Farm, Newton St Margarets, caused unnecessary suffering to the animal.

He pleaded guilty and was fined £250 with £798 costs.

The case was brought under the animal health and welfare legislation whereby the farmer neglected to find the animal and release it.

The court was told that Herefordshire Council's environmental health and trading standards followed up a complaint received by Animal Health and Welfare inspectors. The offence related to an incident in November 1999 when a cow was found dead with one of its feet caught in a barbed-wire fence.

The veterinary inspector who attended stated that in his opinion the animal had been alive and had been stuck in the fence in excess of 24 hours.

The court heard that a number of days had followed before the cow had been discovered by the veterinary inspector investigating the complaint with Animal Health and Welfare. Mr Bishop didn't know the animal was there until told.

The magistrates agreed that the case had been properly brought. They said it was not a case of cruelty but one of neglect from an experienced farmer who could be expected when looking for a lost cow to check his boundary fences.

After the case, Mike Higgins, the council's animal health and welfare manager, said: "People who keep livestock have a duty of care towards them. This care failed on this occasion."

Mr Higgins said that in any instance of unnecessary suffering the authority would always investigate and when necessary put the case before the court.

Offences under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 carry a maximum £5,000 fine with the ability to impose a ban on keeping animals, and a six-month jail term.