Animal welfare officers and volunteers yesterday explained the terrible conditions animals were kept in at a farm in Bidnija last July.

They were testifying in a case against the 50-year-old owner of the farm, Sue Arnett, who stands charged with animal cruelty when she allegedly left a number of dogs in a sorry state.

Volunteer Wendy Monk said she had worked at Funny Farm for two and a half years and the neglect she had seen was bad. The place was dirty and the dogs were left without food for long periods of time and sometimes she even had to buy food for them.

Jackie Laferla, said she had worked for a number of years at the farm as a volunteer. There was a general lack of hygiene, lack of food for the dogs and, although Ms Arnett sometimes kept dogs for boarding at the farm, she did not look after the animals.

Animal welfare inspector Emanuel Buhagiar reported that they had inspected the farm last July 28. He said he called Ms Arnett on her mobile and she said they could go and inspect the farm. There were five dogs in the farm and two of them were seriously ill, in fact, one of them was so bad that a welfare officer, Godric Marston, had to pick it up because it could not walk.

Ms Arnett had told him that if they took the dogs, they would be doing her a favour, Mr Buhagiar said.

He told her the matter was very serious and that she was breaking the law, to which she replied that she was not finding enough volunteers and had just returned from abroad.