Horse-hitting Hunter ‘Not Guilty’ Of Animal Cruelty

Cottesmore Hunt horse beater Sarah Moulds has today Friday 25/8/23 been found ‘NOT GUILTY’ of two charges of animal cruelty under the Animal Welfare 2006 by a jury at Lincoln Crown Court.

Despite overwhelming evidence provided by hunt saboteurs and damning statements by expert witnesses, somehow after some time deliberating the jury came to the verdict of not guilty.

On the 6th of November 2021 whilst attending a hunt meet of the notorious Cottesmore Hunt at the Drift, Gunby, Lincolnshire. Hertfordshire hunt sabs witnessed a brutal attack on a horse by then school teacher Sarah Moulds. In the shocking footage Sarah Moulds kicks the horse name ‘Bruce Almighty’ in the chest before slapping the horse in the head with force four times in front of children. Bruce belonged to Sarah and still does, was being ridden by a child that day. The accused was then interviewed in Leeds on November 25th 2021. In December 2021 she was sacked from her position at the Mowbray Educational Trust, and in January 2022 she was charged with two offences under the Animal Welfare Act. If found guilty Moulds could have faced jail.

At the trial on Wednesday 23/8/23 at Lincoln Crown Sarah Moulds attempted to justify her horrific actions, stating that they were “necessary and proportionate in the circumstances” and that the horse was examined on November 16th 2021 and was in “good health”. Moulds claimed her intentions were to “briefly shock” Bruce. The accused also claimed “By running into the road he risked causing harm to himself, the child and other road users”, which sounds like an admission to the danger these hunts cause not just to themselves but members of the public.

Her defence barrister wasn’t convincing either in his attempts to defend Moulds, likening the blows to horses being whipped in horse racing and show jumping. Defence barrister Derek Duffy stated “Horses have pain inflicted on them in many other ways in the course of sports”, before adding “We know that punishment to horses is both routine and permitted in certain settings”. This hardly sounds like an endorsement for using animals in sport, let alone bloodsports.

View the footage for yourself via Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs

However the RSPCA who brought this case to court argued otherwise, an expert advising the prosecution disagreed with Moulds’ defence and said Bruce Almighty would have suffered “fear and distress” during the attack. Also giving evidence was Suzanne Green an award winning equine veterinary surgeon, who stated the actions against Bruce “was not proportional or appropriate“. She further stated “As Sarah Moulds gets hold of the lead rope, at that point his head continues to go up, it is pulling back, his eyes are shut, it’s ears are to the side. It has tension in its face.”

Dr Green then added when Moulds kicked Bruce to the chest she “immediately sends a ripple down his body”. And as a prey animal his instinct would have been to flee, the kick to the sternum area would not have been pleasant and would have caused bruising that would not be visible due to horse having an extra layer of skin and fur. When asked to comment on the video footage of Bruce being slapped fort times in the head Dr Suzanne Green said “The skin on the horse is especially thin, and there are two main nerves that run down the face which are responsible for nearly all of the sensations”. She continued “You can see on the horse’s face when she hits that horse, it is being caused fear”.

Dr Green then described the slaps, the first was with an open hand but the second and third were with a closed fist with knuckles, and the fourth a jabbed slap. Dr Green then stated “that horse has nowhere to go, he is not fighting back, he is not hurting her”. She told the jurors “the overall conclusion I have reached was that Bruce was caused unnecessary suffering by the actions of Sarah Moulds in that video”, and that “you only kicked a horse like that to deliver pain because it will hurt it”.

Hazel Stevens prosecution on behalf of the RSPCA said to the jurors “The starting point for you is your interpretation of the video”. The prosecution case was that the pony, Bruce, suffered through Sarah Moulds’ actions. Summarising she added “she decided to treat Bruce like that, she made that decision. She kicked him, she said because she had her hands full, but it didn’t end there. After kicking him and making that chastisement, she passes the lead rope to someone else and continues. What is Bruce learning from that? She says the intention was to punish, to shock, therefore the intention was to do something unpleasant to Bruce. Fear and suffering, and the prosecution case is Bruce felt fear”.

With all evidence including the undeniable video footage, the statements from the RSPCA, Dr Suzanne Green’s expert opinion and a poor defence by Sarah Moulds’ legal team, this has come as a shock. This can only be put down as yet another massive miscarriage of justice.