A Garnock Valley farmer has told of her disgust after her land was used by a charity owner to abandon and starve around 30 animals.

The farmer, who we cannot name for legal reasons, rented out her land to Lisa Kennedy, whom she believed to be running a reputable animal sanctuary.

But the farmer was horrified to find that Kennedy was leaving horses and a donkey out in the open all night, and neglecting to feed her animals for days on end.

Kennedy received a warning after the farmer reported her to the Scottish SPCA and thankfully, most of the animals have been rehabilitated and rehomed.

The farmer said: “It makes me really sick. I’d thought she was running a great charity, but it was far from it unfortunately.

“She brought about 30 animals and they were all out in the field. The horses were without food for days and days.

“She would say “it’s a starve day today” for the owls because there was no food. I’ve got a friend from a falcon centre and he came over and did a full assessment on all 22 birds and they were all suffering from malnutrition, and some had mites and bumble foot.

“She was on my land for about six weeks but within a week, days even, we realised she’s not coming down. There was a volunteer coming and feeding the owls, but not every day.

“She told everyone that one of the owls had her wings drilled by someone and she couldn’t fly, but she’d actually forced her to walk on the ground because she had no perch. Her wings were dragging on the ground. She’s now with one of my friends and is doing great.

“I wanted a rug for the donkey because he was outside in the field. and I had no free stables, nowhere to put him. I drove down to Hollybush [where Kennedy lived] and I was told by her that two of the owls had died. It seemed it was a laugh and a giggle.

“We called the SSPCA - I phoned them five times - and I said you need to come out because an owl is now dead. I was raging, I’d had enough.

“To think she’s not going to be punished. She just got a warning. She was posing as a veterinary surgeon and a doctor, but the horrific thing is she had operating theatres.”

Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn said, “We can confirm that we received complaints about an animal sanctuary operating under various names and locations in the Ayrshire area.

“A thorough investigation was conducted and a report was then sent to the Procurator Fiscal in relation to allegations involving captive birds of prey and impersonating a vet which concluded in a fiscal’s warning.

“Following the fiscal’s warning we attended the property and issued an animal welfare notice which was subsequently followed up.

“We report directly to the Procurator Fiscal and must act within the full extent of the law at all times.

“The primary activity of the Scottish SPCA is to ensure that animals in Scotland enjoy high standards of animal welfare. It is for this reason that we would like to see all animal shelters in Scotland licensed in the near future to ensure animals being cared for at these establishments receive high quality care.”