Cownapped!

Farmer sues SSPCA after they snatch 30 of her beloved Jersey herd ‘for no reason’

WITH their big brown eyes, soft coats and gentle nature, they have long enjoyed the freedom to roam and graze at the Scottish dairy farm where they live.

But now a herd of Jersey cows have found themselves in a bizarre legal battle over claims they have been ‘cownapped’.

For more than 40 years Brenda Leddy has raised and cared for cows on her farm in Stichill, near Kelso, Roxburghshire, where she makes cheese, luxury desserts and Scotland’s only clotted cream.

The 85-year-old award-winning owner of Stichill Jerseys works on-site with her daughter Susan Gillard to make and supply their goods to specialist food shops, restaurants and farmers’ markets across Scotland.

However, the farmer is now locked in a court battle with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA). She is suing the organisation after it arrived at her farm and removed 30 of her cows.

For five months, a significant proportion of her herd has been held by the charity at an unknown location.

And while Mrs Leddy is pursuing a court case against the SSPCA for the return of her livestock, in a bizarre twist the charity is counter-suing her, demanding that she pay for the costs of its transporting and looking after her animals.

Mrs Leddy and Ms Gillard, 61, have not been told where their cows are or the conditer they are being kept in and if any of them have given birth to any calves – as they were expected to.

They are desperate to know how ‘their girls’ are, and get them home.

Ms Gillard has had confirmation that no criminal proceedings are being taken against her and neither of them has any involvement with the courts or the SSPCA over treatment of their animals.

Last night, an emotional Mrs Leddy said: ‘I have no idea where they are keeping them and we just need them home.’

Fighting tears, Ms Gillard added: ‘It feels like someone has taken our children away.’

Originally from Yorkshire, Mrs Leddy studied agriculture and dairying before she married and had her family. She moved from Yorkshire to Scotland where her late husband was from in 1974.

Four years later, she returned to her craft and got her first Jersey cow – Lovely – who supplied milk to the family.

She then expanded her Jersey herd. From 1979, she entered cows into the Royal Highland Show and later joined the Jersey Cattle Society’s board of directors.

Mrs Leddy still runs her business from the farm, churning butter, making cheese, quiche and desserts. She employs her daughtions Ms Gillard who milks the cows and does some of the baking while Mrs Leddy cooks, bakes and sells their products at markets including in Edinburgh and Haddington, East Lothian, and even exporting to the US. She is a former runnerup in BBC Radio 4’s Food and Farming Awards.

The mother and daughter said they were shocked when the SSPCA turned up at their farm unannounced in February, claiming it had received an anonymous tip-off about alleged welfare issues. The charity stated there were too many cattle and demanded that sheds be cleaned and repaired.

The women denied any suggestion of mistreatment or neglect but acknowledged that the pandemic had made it harder to get in workers to maintain the buildings. In response to the SSPCA demands, they sold off some of their cows.

However, in June the SSPCA returned and to the women’s disbelief rounded up 30 cows on to a lorry, taking them away from their surroundings and leaving the women devastated.

Mrs Leddy added: ‘They were fed, warm and well cared for here – this is their home.

‘They took away a cow who was due to calf. The stress of moving will have brought it on early and we don’t know if they have known how to properly care for her or the calf. Cows should not be moved

‘It feels like someone has taken our children’

‘We know one of them has been put down’

when they are so close to giving birth.’

Ms Gillard said: ‘We know through the solicitor that one has been put down but we don’t know how or when – we could have saved her if she was here.

‘We were told they have only been milking three cows but they took four that needed milked and I provided their tag numbers.’

After the cows were taken from the farm by the SSPCA, Mrs Leddy immediately instructed a lawyer to take legal action in order to get them back.

A virtual hearing took place at Jedburgh Sheriff Court in August with further proceedings due at a later date.

The SSPCA declined to comment.