A father and son from Llawhaden have been given two-month suspended prison sentences for the illegal movement of livestock.
Farmers George Winston Ratcliffe, of Colby House, Slebech, and his son, Brian Edward Ratcliffe, of Colby Farm, Llawhaden, were sentenced at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court last Thursday.
George Ratcliffe pleaded guilty to 14 offences during 2008 of illegal movements of livestock and/or failure to report their movements, as well as breaches of TB restrictions. He had previously pleaded guilty to seven offences in 2007, which included failing to report cattle movements during the Foot and Mouth restrictions.
He asked for a further 33 charges to be taken into consideration.
Brian Ratcliffe pleaded guilty to six similar offences during 2008 and asked for a further six charges to be taken into consideration.
Both men had Prohibition Notices placed on them in early 2008, removing their General Licences to move livestock, for movement offences the previous year. The offences included ignoring these bans.
Despite their farms being under Tuberculosis restrictions, cattle were moved on and off without obtaining the necessary TB movement licence.
It is illegal to move cattle that have not had a pre-movement TB test to a farm (a measure put in place to reduce the spread of TB) yet despite this, they purchased untested cattle in markets and took them to their farms.
Magistrates gave the pair a two-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months, with a supervision order attached for six months.
They were also ordered to pay £8,000 costs between them.
The prosecution was brought by the Public Protection Division of Pembrokeshire County Council.
Nigel Watts, trading standards and animal welfare manager for the council, said afterwards: "Outside of Foot and Mouth outbreaks, I am not aware of a more serious case in recent years in the UK of persistent non-compliance to disease control measures designed to protect human health and other livestock.
"Farmers and government agencies are working hard together to try to reduce TB that has a crippling hold on farming, particularly in West Wales. Compliance with animal movement restrictions is just one important measure in the fight against the spread of this disease and it is satisfying that the magistrates have recognised this where it has clearly been ignored."