A husband and wife from Leek have each been handed suspended custodial sentences and banned from keeping farm animals for 12 years following convictions for animal welfare offences.

Matthew Shuker, 38, and Courtney Shuker, 32, of Westwood Hall Farm, Leek, were sentenced at Telford Magistrates Court on Wednesday 29 July.

Sentences and Bans

Matthew Shuker received a 38-week custodial sentence suspended for 18 months, a 12-year ban from keeping livestock, a 10-year ban from keeping companion animals, a £400 fine, and 200 hours of unpaid work. He was ordered to pay £15,587 in costs.

Courtney Shuker was given a 26-week custodial sentence suspended for 18 months, a 12-year ban from keeping livestock, a 10-year ban from keeping companion animals, a £200 fine, and 140 hours of unpaid work. She was ordered to pay £15,354 in costs.

What Officers Found

Staffordshire County Council's Trading Standards service prosecuted the couple after they pleaded guilty on 12 May 2025. The RSPCA also brought separate charges relating to dogs found at the farm.

In March 2023, Trading Standards officers visited the farm. Despite previous improvement notices, they found animals in such poor condition that 243 calves were removed and taken into council possession. Dogs at the site were found in appalling conditions.

Welfare Failures

The court heard evidence of repeated failures to provide calves with adequate food and veterinary care. Unlawful castration of bull calves had taken place at the farm, and the couple failed to deal with ill, dying and dead animals.

Judge Wilkinson thanked all officers involved and commented that the case "strikes at the heart of an animal loving nation."

Anthony Screen, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Resilience at Staffordshire County Council, said: "Our animal health team work hard to ensure livestock is properly cared for. This is a particularly upsetting case involving vulnerable, young animals whose basic welfare needs were not met. Despite professional advice and intervention, the couple continued to offend, even after animals had been removed from the site. Investigations of this nature require significant time and public resources, but they are essential to protecting animal welfare. I'm pleased the court has reached a successful conclusion, sending a clear message that we will take robust action where welfare standards are ignored."