A FARMER has been fined £4,000 for leaving dead sheep to rot on his land.
Bury magistrates told Stephen Oriel Watkinson that the offences posed a risk to animal and human health.
Watkinson (63), who farms Three Acre Farm in Hawkshaw Lane, Hawkshaw, had been warned and cautioned in respect of previous abandoned sheep carcasses.
Between September 1999 and March 2004, more than 40 sheep carcasses had been found on his land, left to rot or be eaten by predators in the fields among livestock.
A vet found that sheep grazing were suffering problems which included 70 per cent fleece loss. Seven decomposed carcasses were discovered, along with a sheep's skull.
Watkinson admitted eight charges of failing to dispose of special waste material properly, was fined £500 for each offence and ordered to pay a further £1,100 in costs to Bury Council.
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