Report by Duncan Williams for Pulman's Weekly News
A Honiton farmer has been handed a suspended prison sentence after what a judge described as “a script from a horror movie”, following shocking animal welfare abuses uncovered at his farm.
David Rosewell, of Crook Farm in Combe Raleigh, appeared before Exeter Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to multiple offences, including failing to provide for the needs of his livestock and neglecting to dispose of animal by-products.
Rosewell was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £18,251 in costs and charges and has been banned for life from owning or caring for cattle, sheep, pigs, goats or poultry.
Joint inspections by Heart of the South West Trading Standards, the Environment Agency (EA), and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in March 2024 exposed appalling conditions on the farm.
Officers found domestic waste, scrap metal, broken concrete a…
