A primary school teacher who has been cleared of causing her child’s pony to suffer said the damage done to her and her family “cannot be undone” after months of death threats and “trial by social media”.
Sarah Moulds was found not guilty of causing suffering to Bruce Almighty, after a three-day trial at Lincoln Crown Court. Footage of Mrs Moulds disciplining the pony during a trail-hunting meet in 2021 had gone viral online, and led to the RSPCA prosecution, as well as Mrs Moulds’ losing her job.
After the verdict, Mrs Moulds read a statement outside court.
“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the judicial system for upholding the principles of justice and fairness,” she said.”Today’s not-guilty verdict is testament to the importance of due process and the fact there are two sides to every story.”
Mrs Moulds said it is “profoundly troubling that in this digital age, misinformation can spread like wildfire, leading to premature judgement and jeopardising the lives and careers of innocent people”.
“A snippet of video was taken out of context and manipulated to paint a picture of me that’s entirely at odds with who I am,” she said. “I adore my animals and have dedicated my life to teaching and nurturing young minds. It was heart-wrenching to be so wrongly and publicly maligned. It is crucial to understand that what we see on the internet, especially on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, is often a fragmented version of the truth. The jury’s decision today has vindicated me. However, the damage from the last 20 months, trial by social media, is irreversible.
“The loss of my career, the hand-delivered death threats to me and my children, the distress caused to my family, cannot be undone.”
Mrs Moulds said her loved ones had been powerless as her life had “unravelled based on falsehoods”.
She raised concerns about the prosecution as a whole and the RSPCA’s handling of it, citing the fact it is an “animal charity whose concern is animal welfare”, and that it is the only charity with the power to prosecute.
“They’ve been pressured to be seen to be doing something, by online bullies and ill-informed high-profile individuals, wasting a phenomenal amount of public donations to bring a politically charged case,” she said.
She said the RSPCA did not ask to examine Bruce between the incident and the trial.
“If they had, on the day after the incident or any day in the last year and a half, they would have met a perfectly healthy, well cared for pony, as verified by an independent veterinary practice at our request,” she said.
“To those who have supported me through this ordeal, including my current employers, often in the face of online hate or taking great personal risk to their own careers and physical safety, I can’t thank you enough. Your unwavering faith and love has been the silver lining to a dark cloud.
“To those who judged me based on an incomplete story, I understand your concerns in relation to animal welfare but I hope this incident serves as a reminder to us all about the power of social media and the responsibility we carry as users, and the importance of refraining from jumping to conclusions without knowing the full story.
“All my family and I wish for now is to rebuild our lives and move forward.”
An RSPCA spokesperson said an independent vet watched the video evidence and “in their expert opinion stated it was clear that suffering had been caused to Bruce by his reaction and therefore there was no need to examine him”.
“This was backed by a second vet who is an equine specialist,” he added. “The vets we consulted felt in their expert view that Bruce suffered pain and also psychological suffering by the fear and distress caused.
“The RSPCA will always look into concerns that are raised about animal welfare. This case was treated no differently to any other case, all of our prosecution decisions follow the same guidance as the CPS – the code for crown prosecutors.
“We do not take the decision to bring prosecution lightly. We apply the same tests as the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether to prosecute someone for animal welfare offences. This requires there to be sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and for it to be in the public interest to prosecute.
“This case was reviewed by a prosecution case manager, an independent solicitor and a barrister who all agreed that the evidential test was met and with the support of two expert vets. We have a 95% success rate in bringing animal welfare prosecutions.
“We accept the court’s decision today and thank the jury for their careful consideration, but the public can be assured the RSPCA will always look into concerns that are raised to us about animal neglect and cruelty.
“We believe that treating all animals with kindness will lead to a more compassionate society and we need everyone to help us do that.
“Animals do not learn well when they are scared or stressed so physically punishing them is not effective, as a wealth of science shows. That’s why we advocate the use of positive reward training instead of force and fear.”
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