Freedom of Information?

jen007

Hi guys,

I won't go into too much detail incase the people mentioned/someone knows this.
The horsey world is so small.

But say you were given an horse for free, but 3 months after you had initially viewed it. And it arrived to you in a REALLY poor condition so much that it's scored a 1.5 on the henneke scale. Completely different to what it was 3 months ago.

Previous owners/caretakers(A) say the horse was abandoned in April and they took ownership of it. They also managed to get the original passport from the owners (B) who had abandoned the horse. They say the SSPCA was involved at this time.




Can my friend use the freedom of information act to access the files they have on the horse?

rising_from_the_ashes

I'm [STRIKE]slightly [/STRIKE] very confused Is this right?

Owners A (original owners) - abandoned horse ..... it was in a good condition at this time?

Owners B - took horse in, got paperwork from Owners A (don't understand how this would happen if they'd abandoned the horse!) and then didn't look after it so the SSPCA were involved


Or

Owners A didn't look after it and the SSPCA were involved then?


It's now been given to Owner C (your friend) - with paperwork? - in a really bad condition ....

If Owners A or B had "dealings" with the SSPCA and there was an ongoing case, I'd be inclined to get in touch with them and see what they advise.

They won't be able to go into the specifics of the case but your friend needs to establish that Owners B were legally the owners & therefore legally entitled to give her the horse (regardless of whether she's got paperwork or not).

The FOI applies to public bodies such as councils etc - I'm pretty sure it doesn't apply to charities.

ostrichnomore_2

charities are not covered by the FOI.

also not all information needs to be released. For example, data protection still applies, so if your friend was hoping to find out the neglectful owners details, for example, that would not be provided.

However, I don't see why the SPCA wouldn't respond to a friendly request saying 'I have X horse, was it recently involved in a case with you or not, as I'm being told it was but I'm not sure...and need to check as ownership is not certain.'

I guess the ownership is your friend's concern now. the previous owners, well I don't know the law in Scotland, but you can't just help yourself to someone else's horse in the rest of UK no matter if abandoned, without going through some proper processes. for example livery stables often have a contract clause ref selling horses for unpaid livery fees, but they still can't just go ahead and do it without following a legal process.

jen007

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I'm [STRIKE]slightly [/STRIKE] very confused Is this right?

Owners A (original owners) - abandoned horse ..... it was in a good condition at this time?

Owners B - took horse in, got paperwork from Owners A (don't understand how this would happen if they'd abandoned the horse!) and then didn't look after it so the SSPCA were involved


Or

Owners A didn't look after it and the SSPCA were involved then?


It's now been given to Owner C (your friend) - with paperwork? - in a really bad condition ....

Owners A abandoned horse, owners B contacted SSPCA. They then took ownership of the horse (we don't know how... if horse was abandoned and they have the original passport... not a copy. Original vet stickers ect)

Horse was apparently in a poor state when B took ownership (In April), friend viewed in August... horse was in a good state, healthy and full of character. Owner B pulled out then.

Owners B got in contact a few weeks ago, offered horse again. Friend arranged collection via a horse transport hire company. Horse arrived, rugs taken off and horse was dramatically underweight. Too much for 3 months (or winter drop off)




Just want to get the whole story of what happened when Owner B took ownership from A.



It's a bit fishy to me, as if horse was abandoned how would they contact owner A to get original passport. Surely SSPCA would have at least made a case on owner A for abandonment and uneccesary suffering?



Owner C reported owner B to SSPCA at the recommendation of a Vet.
Apparently Owner B has been given a warning.


Would warning's be verbal? Written?




I've probably just added more confusion

tizerbelle

What information are you looking for?

What do you hope to achieve by knowing?

Is it of any relevance to Owner C's ownership of the horse?

rising_from_the_ashes

Warning could be verbal or written - and they wouldn't release details to a 3rd party so not worth pursuing.

Your friend has done what she can ie reported Owner B and they've been warned (in whatever shape or form).

If I was her, I would be more concerned about the legal ownership status - did any money change hands?

If not, then she's no proof of anything TBH and what's to say Owner B couldn't turn around in a years' time and say that it was their horse and they'd not sold / given it to her OR Owners A could come forward, say the horse was stolen (by Owners and demand it back!

Personally, I'd want clarification on the legal ownership so there can be absolutely no doubt that the horse is 100% hers, especially if challenged in future.

rosyw

Personally I'd be more concerned about establishing legal ownership and putting every effort into making sure this poor horse gets the care and nutrition it requires to recover it's weight and condition. There is nothing that can be done to change whatever happened for it to be in such a sorry state other than getting it thoroughly checked over by a decent horse vet to make sure there is no underlying medical condition which has caused it. I would assume your friend has had it's teeth checked and ensured it's not carrying a heavy worm burden?

moggymutt

Definitely agree with rosy, priority is now getting poor horse back to good health, and establishing legal ownership so owner B cant ever get hold of the poor thing again.