A west Wales man has been prosecuted for animal welfare offences - including kicking a pony.

Evan David Bevan from Cwmann, Lampeter, was found guilty on three charges after a trial at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on April 12.

The incidents in question included causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, relating to the cruel treatment of Tony, a male pony, which Bevan was caught on video kicking.

The second offence was for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, after a female German Shepherd called Rosie was failed by Bevan who neglected to provide her with prompt and professional veterinary care for a serious ear injury. Rosie ended up losing part of her ear.

The third charge related to Bevan's insufficient care for several dogs, including Rosie and a female mastiff called Lily.

The court heard a statement from RSPCA deputy chief inspector (DCI) Gemma Cooper.

On February 20, 2023, she was anonymously provided with two damning videos.

The first footage, dated September 27, 2022, showed a man kicking a pony, with the second showing the same individual assaulting a dog with a stick.

This scenario led to a dogfight in which Rosie was injured.

DCI Cooper and a team of police and animal health officers later attended Bevan's location, with DCI Cooper stating that she instantly recognised the man in the video.

She said: "We asked if we could look at his dogs and he let out of a barn approximately 10-15 dogs who almost straight away started to fight amongst each other."

Bevan admitted the situation was out of control, agreeing to rehome two dogs, a female Bull Mastiff named Lily and a female chocolate Labrador named Maggie.

While DCI Cooper advised Bevan he housed too many dogs, he insisted he could cope with the number.

After enquiring about Rosie's location, Bevan affirmed that he had recently placed her with a rescue centre due to her ear injury.

He admitted that he didn't seek veterinary help for Rosie's ear injury - which was caused in the second video where the dog he was hitting with the stick had been fighting with Rosie - and that he sprayed the ear with Engemycin spray.

During the trial, a veterinary expert provided an opinion on the animal welfare issues.

After examining both videos and the conditions of the dogs, the expert confirmed that Bevan's violent actions had caused unnecessary pain to the animals.

On May 3, Bevan was sentenced for his offences.

He received 12 weeks in prison for the first offence, eight weeks for the second, and four weeks for the third, with the sentences to run concurrently.

The 12-week sentence was suspended for 24 months, and Bevan was also ordered to carry out 25 rehabilitation action requirement days, 200 hours of unpaid work, and to pay £1,000 in court costs and a victim surcharge.

According to mitigation, the animal enthusiast has since reduced the number of animals he houses, with no further incidents reported.

Following the conviction, the RSPCA happily confirmed that Lily and Maggie, as well as Rosie under the care of Many Tears Animal Rescue, have now all successfully been placed in new homes.