A PETERHEAD vet has testified at the trial of a north-east man facing 12 charges over his care of cattle and dogs at farms across Aberdeenshire.

William Cassie, 63-years-old, denies the offences, which took place at Mill of Kinmuck, near Ellon; Lower Wanford Farm in Alvah, near Banff; his home at Portstown in Keithhall; and Mains of Montcoffer in Macduff.

Giving evidence as an animal and plant health agent, vet Lindsay Murray told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that a cow she had found lying on its side, very underweight and tangled in a harness, should have been put down long before welfare officers raided Mill of Kinmuck to take Mr Cassie's animals into care in December 2018.

Questioned by fiscal depute Anne Macdonald, Ms Murray said: “She should have been euthanised. If I had a cow in that state, I would have done so before she got in that state.”

Ms Murray also said a two-week-old calf, found in the same darkened shed with no contact with other animals, was 'roaring' in hunger when she arrived at the farm.

The trial, in front of Sheriff Margaret Hodge, continues.