North West Hunt Saboteurs AssociationBadgers
John Threlkeld (37) of Low
Scales, Renwick, near Penrith, appeared before Eden magistrates on
19/1/04 charged with killing two badgers. Threlkeld pleaded not guilty
to both offences. He also denied setting a snare to cause injury
to a scheduled wild animal. The cases were adjourned to fix a trial
date.
On 31/3/04 Leslie
Fowell (34) appeared before Wirral magistrates charged with
eight offences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. The charges
include willfully injuring badgers and cruelly ill-treating badgers.
The badger offences are alleged to have taken place in Flintshire.
Fowell is also charged with possession of an offensive weapon and
possession of a controlled drug.
Bloodsports
Michael William Smith, a self-employed
pest control contractor based in Essex, pleaded guilty
to failing to take all reasonable precautions to protect
humans, creatures and the environment, contrary to the
Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 at Colchester magistrates
on 30/1/03. He said that he had been called in to deal
with rabbits and was using phosphine gas at an old badger
sett. Smith was fined £250
plus £118 costs.
On 22/7/03 Gary Mark Taylor, a head
gamekeeper for Northumberland estates, pleaded guilty to
four charges contrary to the Food and Environment Protection Act
1985, at Alnwick magistrates. The charges related to the use and
storage of fumigant pesticides. Taylor's fines and costs totalled £310.
He was acquitted on five charges relating to the use of three cage-traps.
In July 2001, the RSPB found a cage-trap on a grouse moor containing
a live pigeon, with food, water and shelter provided. It appeared
that the trap was intended to take birds of prey - in particular,
peregrines. In one trap were two dead mistle thrushes, thought to
have starved to death. At his home, an unmarked and unlocked outbuilding
held fumigant pesticides that were legally required to be stored
under lock and key.
On 5/9/03 in the Court of Criminal Appeal of the High
Court of Judiciary in Edinburgh, gamekeeper
Malcolm Kempson lost
his appeal against his conviction for a number of poisoning offences.
On 21/11/01 at Perth Sheriff Court, Kempson was convicted of placing
a bait containing carbofuran, poisoning five buzzards and a carrion
crow and possessing carbofuran for the purpose of committing offences
against the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. He was also convicted
of illegal carbofuran storage. These crimes took place on Tillyrie
Farm, near Milnathort in Perthshire, where Kempson was leasing the
shooting facility and running a pheasant shoot. Following the failed
appeal the court made no adjustment to the penalty, however, Kempson
must now pay the £2,400 in fines that were originally imposed
in the Sheriff Court.
A hunting trip to Ireland has proved an expensive outing
for two shooting enthusiasts after they were caught killing protected
species. Not only were they arrested and fined a total of 1,600 euros
(£1,113) for shooting wild Red deer, a protected species, but
their two hunting rifles, worth £2,500 each, were also confiscated
by order of the court. On 9/1/04 the District Court in Killarney, County
Kerry, was told that Simon Everett (43) of Hilldene,
Westhill, Uttoxeter, and Nicholas Pancisi (44) of
Stubbs Farm, Stubbs Lane, Stanton, near Ashbourne, had been arrested
in the area in possession of the butchered carcasses of a hind and
her young calf. Both had been shot separately and gutted. The two admitted
a charge of hunting a protected species, but their defence solicitor,
Padraig O'Connell, claimed they had acted out of ignorance of the law.
They were also fined each man 800 euros.
A Little Lever man
was convicted of trespass after being caught hare coursing on farmland
in Lancashire. William Rogers (40) of Hall Lane Caravan
Site, Little Lever, pleaded guilty to trespassing on land, in pursuit
of game. Rogers was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered
to pay £60
costs by Blackpool magistrates on 20/1/04. Rogers was among a
group of men working three dogs who were seen trespassing on the farmland.
Rogers has three previous similar convictions for trespass in pursuit
of game.
A hunt protester was hit on the head from behind by a hunt
supporter as he conducted a peaceful protest. The incident happened
on New Year's Day as supporters of Mendip Farmers'
Hunt passed through
a village. Police arrested a man in connection with the incident
and he was dealt with by a formal caution. The protester stated "I
asked the huntsmen to stop mutilating our wildlife. I shouted at
them to leave our wildlife alone and stop stalking them for fun.
I could see them coming over the fields and noticed two people standing
around with the hunt following, coming down the road. One of them
took exception to me. He took a swing at me and his wife stopped
him. He then came up behind me and laid into my head. I suffered
large lumps on the side of my head - he was using a metal-tipped
staff." A 67-year-old man was arrested and has been given a
formal caution by Shepton Mallet police officers on 16/1/04.
A gamekeeper accused
of slaughtering rare birds of prey kept a diary in code detailing his
killings Buxton's magistrates heard on 26/1/04. When the police searched
John Cripps's cottage in the Derwent Valley they found 171 wild bird
eggs and equipment for climbing trees. The gamekeeper, for a private
shooting estate in the valley, faces 19 charges under the Wildlife
Act, including 10 of killing rare peregrine falcons, goshawk and sparrowhawk.
He is also accused of illegally collecting and smashing birds' eggs. John
Cripps (60) of Keeper's Cottage,
Ronksley, Derbyshire, denies all the charges. On 30/1/04 he was acquitted
of 12 charges of killing goshawk, sparrowhawk and peregrine falcons,
which are all protected species. However, he was found guilty of
recklessly disturbing a goshawk while it was on a
nest containing eggs and intentionally destroying the eggs of a goshawk. On
25/2/04 he was given a three-month suspended jail sentence.
On 8/2/04 Stephen Parkin who is the master
of the South Cornwall Hunt was charged by the RSPCA
with causing unnecessary suffering to a hound. Parkin (42) from Whitemoor
near St Austell, denied the allegations
at Bodmin magistrates on 11/2/04. The case against Parkin was adjourned
for a pre-trial review to be held in front of magistrates at Bodmin
on 16/3/04.
Police found the decaying bodies of two dead dogs and dog bones scattered
among beer bottles at a suspected dog-fighting pen in Jonesboro, USA.
The plywood pen was found in some woods. A well-worn path led from
the pen to the backyard of a rental house from which the Clayton County
Police said four pit bull terriers were confiscated after being found
to be in extremely bad condition. On 13/2/04 Gary Miller (42)
was charged with four counts of animal cruelty in connection with the
condition
the dogs. He has not been charged with fighting dogs. The police said
the confiscated dogs had suffered from bites and injuries consistent
with dog fighting.
A gamekeeper and his wife were banned from keeping dogs for three years
after their two pets became seriously underweight. Caroline
Bunnett (23) and James Bunnett (25) of Narborough Road, Pentney, near King's
Lynn, pleaded guilty to two charges of causing unnecessary suffering
to a black and tan Alsatian cross and a white and tan Jack Russell
at Central Norfolk magistrates at Swaffham on 19/2/04. As well as the
ban on keeping dogs, the couple were ordered to pay £125 each
towards costs. Caroline Bunnett was given a year's conditional discharge
and James Bunnett was ordered to do fifty hours' community service.
Goshen, N.Y. - The publisher of a dogfighting magazine was convicted
of animal cruelty and dogfighting felonies on 1/3/04, almost a year
after 18 pit bulls were taken from his property. James Fricchione (34)
from Westtown was found guilty by a judge of one dogfighting and four
cruelty counts, as well as five misdemeanors. He publishes the bimonthly
Sporting Dog Journal, with about 6,000 subscribers nationwide, from
his home in Westtown, about 55 miles northwest of New York City. Most
of the 18 pit bulls had injuries like those inflicted in dog fights.
Police also seized equipment used to train fighting dogs. Fricchione,
who remains free on $10,000 bail, declined to comment. He faces sentencing
14/4/04 before a Orange County Judge. The sad news is that the dogs
have been getting better care in shelters, but they will have to be
destroyed.
Former Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray Foxhounds
huntsman, Jonathan Broise was released on bail from Chichester
Magistrates at the start of March 2004, charged with Actual Bodily
Harm and accused of riding down and breaking the shoulder of anti-hunt
protester, at Cathanger, near Petworth.
Stephen Scott (21) of Galalaw Road,
Harwick was fined £300
at Jedburgh Sheriff court on 19/3/04. But, his two co-accused brothers Ian Marshall and Paul Marshall of
Burnfoot Road and Wilson Drive respectively both walked free after
the procurator fiscal accepted not-guilty pleas. All three men had
initially faced several charges relating to foxes and badgers. Scott
admitted sending a lurcher and two terriers into a fox set. Two foxes
fled
from
the
set and one was caught by the lurcher. A farmer noticed the terrier
dogs running loose and saw them entering
the fox set. He approached the accused and saw a fox close to the set
in its last throes of life. "The accused was then told to get
off the land by the farmer". During police interviews Scott a
forestry worker admitted responsibility for his dogs and the death
of a fox. Since the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland)
Act was introduced in 2002, in an attempt to outlaw foxhunts, there
has only been one other successful conviction. In December
2003 of a Dundee man, David Murray,
who was found on a beach at night with two dogs trying to lure foxes
into a trap. Although Murray did not catch any foxes, he was still
found guilty under the terms of the law. He admitted hunting for foxes
with dogs, but was not convicted of killing foxes.
A hunt master's
wife who unfairly sacked her gardener of 15 years has been ordered
to pay him £3,420 by an employment tribunal. Adrian Clarke (47) was dismissed by Fiona
Smith-Bingham from
The Whalebones, Knossington after he picked up an arm injury
and was unable to fulfil his gardener and handyman duties. The tribunal,
in Leicester on 8/4/04, heard her husband Kim, Master
of the Cottesmore Hunt, dismissed Clarke before the couple
had seen a doctor's report confirming their former gardener's condition.
Eggs/Birds
John Duncan Mair of Whitecraig
Avenue, Whitecraig, Musselburgh, East Lothian was caught setting
up lime twigs next to a live decoy to catch finches. When the police
searched Mair's garden the next day they found sheds containing bullfinches
and greenfinches. When Mair appeared at Haddington Sheriff's court
on 20/8/03 he pleaded guilty to taking bullfinches using birdlime
and was fined £400.
On 22/1/04 the head of America's largest and grandest museum network,
the Smithsonian Institution, is to plead guilty to wildlife trafficking
charges after endangered bird feathers were found in his private
collection. Lawrence Small is not expected to lose
his post or suffer any fine or jail after surrendering his collection
to the government, the Smithsonian said. He is due to plead guilty
to a "one-count,
non-intentional misdemeanour violation".
On 19/2/04 Liverpool businessman Peter Tierney denied
a charge of possessing more than 100 wild birds eggs. Tierney, founder
of the Quiggins cultural and retail centre on Peters Lane, told Liverpool
magistrates that the eggs had come into his possession accidentally.
He said: " I am
an antiques dealer and we bought a consignment of furniture. "The
eggs were found in a drawer which had not been checked and we just
put them out on display." Magistrates agreed to a review in April
to decide if the matter should proceed. Tierney, 45, said: "These
eggs were very old and in a cabinet on open display and had been there
for more than two years."
Equine
In January 2004 John Lock (58) of Tydd St Giles,
near Wisbech was been banned from having custody of equines for 25
years and ordered to pay £3,000 costs for neglecting five ponies
to such an extent that they could barely walk. Lock pleaded guilty
to causing the ponies unnecessary suffering and the magistrates also
ordered him to carry out 180 hours community service. All the ponies
were overweight and had swollen lips from eating the nettles in their
field. Some also had rain scald on their bodies and conjunctivitis
in their eyes. The good news is
that the ponies have improved and have now been successfully rehomed.
A woman from the Shropshire border has been banned from owning dogs,
horses and ponies after RSPCA officers found animals living in appalling
and filthy conditions at her home. Roberta Mitchell of
Wood Cottage, Bettisfield, near Ellesmere, was handed the two-year
ban - suspended
pending appeal - for 17 charges of causing unnecessary suffering
to. During sentencing at Wrexham magistrates on 19/2/04, Mitchell
was given 120 hours of community service and ordered to pay £600
costs. The defence immediately lodged an appeal - which could take
up to a year to be completed. The probation service indicated it
was also likely to suspend the 120 hour community punishment order.
Assorted
The first prison sentence in the UK for the sale of bushmeat was
handed down by magistrates in north London on 6/1/04. Paulina
Owusu Pepra was jailed for three months, after
being convicted by Haringey magistrates of selling meat unfit for
human consumption. The 23 counts on which Pepra was found guilty
involved infringements of the Food Safety Act by selling unfit meat,
including bushmeat.
Damien Penrose (18) admitted shooting and killing
a swan, which is a protected species, with an air-rifle, was jailed for two months on 7/1/04. Magistrates in Swindon were
told he tried to hide his action by throwing the carcass into a hedge,
but he was seen by dog walkers.
A
farmer is facing a jail sentence after plunging an animal health
inspector and a vet into a pit of slurry. Roger Baker (61)
was found guilty of attacking a trading standards officer and a Government
vet on his land at Ventongimps, near Truro in Cornwall. On 23/1/04
at Taunton Crown Court the jury failed to reach a majority verdict
on a second charge of making a threat to kill. The charge was instead
left to lie on file at the request of counsel for the Crown. Baker
who has convictions for animal cruelty spanning 30 years,
denied attacking the officials and threatening to kill. He was released
on bail pending a pre-sentence report. The court heard how Baker
dragged the inspector across the yard and attempted to dunk him in
the slurry - consisting of mud, animal faeces and urine. Also how
Baker pulled the vet to the ground and dragged her into the liquid.
With one hand on her face, he pushed her into the slurry so hard
she was forced to hold her breath. On 1/3/04 Baker was jailed for
two years.
John Markey (34) of Blackcastle Estate, Navan, Co.Meath warned he
faces jail for possessing image of a child being sexually assaulted
by "massive dogs". "The bestiality element concerns
me very much. A little girl, massive dogs, it's disgusting." The
Judge told Navan District Court on 4/2/04. He also said he intended
to jail John Markey because he thought he would offend. Markey pleaded
guilty in December 2002 to possessing child porn. The case was adjourned
until 24/3/04.
The former boss of a West Yorkshire abattoir has escaped jail after
he admitted breaking animal welfare laws. Bradford Crown Court heard
on 6/2/04 how a sheep was treated inhumanely as it was prepared for
halal slaughter at the Sunside Farm slaughterhouse in Denholme Gate,
near Bradford. David Alan Halliwell (22) of Lower Moss Side Farm,
off Kingsway, Rochdale, admitted three breaches of animal welfare
regulations and was given a 160-hour community punishment order and
told to pay £800 in costs. Shakil Aslam (24) of Sunside Farm,
pleaded guilty to one breach. He received 40-hours community punishment,
with £300 in costs. Both defendants had expressed remorse.
A Devon man who killed a swan with his bare hands in front of crowds
by a river side has been jailed for three months. Michael Barnett (41)
of Smythen Street, Exeter was left covered in blood after wringing
the bird's neck and slamming it on to concrete. Barnett pleaded guilty
at Exeter magistrates on 11/2/04 to intentionally killing the swan,
an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Barnett pleaded
guilty to failing to surrender to bail, for which he was jailed for
14 days consecutive to the original sentence.
Former American wrestling star Jake "The Snake" Roberts appeared
in court to face charges that he starved his pet python to death. Texan
Roberts, whose real name is Aurelian Smith Jr,
is accused of causing unnecessary suffering to his Burmese python.
Roberts (48) from White Horse Lane, London Colney, Hertfordshire, appeared
at St Albans magistrates on 25/2/04 along with partner Valerie
Burnham (59). The couple were
released on bail to reappear before St Albans magistrates on 11/3/04.
Thousands of chickens perished amid soaring summer temperatures
when they were packed into a transporter lorry for a 13-mile trip. Grampian Country Chickens (Fresh) Ltd, admitted causing unnecessary
suffering to 2,486 chickens at Bury St Edmunds magistrates on 27/3/04.
The chickens, which were on a truck containing 5,500, died while
on a 13-mile journey when temperatures soared to 28°C. They were being
transported from the Wild Rose Farm in Long Stratton to the Grampian
processing plant in Eye. Suffolk County Council claimed four earlier
journeys the same afternoon had seen around 1,370 chickens perish
in the heat. The fifth load led to unnecessary suffering and death.
Grampian Country Chickens (Fresh) Ltd were fined £4,000 and
ordered to pay costs of £11,196.
A farmer who used a shotgun to frighten away animal rights activists
was "let off" by a judge on 26/3/04 with a written warning
not to do it again. David Brian Davies (45) of Neuadd Deg farm near
Manordeilo, Carmarthenshire found his puppy farm targeted by two
men who used decoys to keep his sheep busy while they crept onto
his farmland. Davies was alerted when his sheep scattered and he
took out his father's shotgun. After challenging the activists he
fired a shot into the air. When they did not stop he called the police
and followed them in his car. He was granted a conditional discharge
for 12 months at Swansea Crown Court. Davies admitted possessing
a shotgun without a licence.
A pensioner who molested a pig has escaped jail. Thomas
Leatham (72)
from Windrush House, Willmont Street, Woolwich was spotted standing
semi-naked behind a Saddleback sow. Southwark Crown Court heard on
3/4/04 that Leatham quickly crouched down behind the pig to obscure
the view of a shocked mother and daughter, who ran away to call the
police. Leatham admitted outraging public decency by committing a lewd
act with the pig. The defendant, who has a wife in her 30s, admitted
molesting the pig but denied having intercourse with the animal. He
was sentenced him to 100 hours community punishment.
Farm Animals
(Guardians Of The Land - My Arse!!!)
Part 389 of the Kirkham story - A farmer
who sold a bogus cow to a local abattoir using false papers has
been ordered to pay fines and court costs of more than £2,200.
On 21/5/03 Leyland magistrates heard how Anthony
Kirkham (58)
of Tarporley, Cheshire had sold the cow for £346 to the
abattoir in Bamber Bridge. But he was tripped up after staff
realised that the cow's "chocolate-brown" colour was
not right for the breed they had been sold. A check of the animal's
paperwork quickly revealed that it had been given a bogus identity
belonging to a cow that had died of pneumonia more than six months
earlier. Magistrates even heard how just days before the sale,
Kirkham had given the animal new eartags bearing the identification
number of the dead beast. In mitigation Kirkham expressed his
regret (MY ARSE) for what had happened and offered his full apologies
to the court. He was fined £1600 and was ordered to pay
costs of £648.21
A Cumbrian farmer has been banned from keeping sheep for life. Edward Burrow (39) of West Plain Farm, Flookburgh was found guilty
of three charges of causing unnecessary suffering to sheep by
Kendal magistrates on 2/1/04. He was also sentenced to 100 hours’ community
rehabilitation order after he pleaded guilty to seven charges
of failing to dispose of sheep carcasses at his farm.
On 13/1/04 a West Cumbrian sheep farmer has surrendered himself
to police after more than three months on the run because a row
over
a footpath on his land. Thomas Ireland (48) of Whins
Farm, Ennerdale, is now in custody at Durham jail, where he will
spend two weeks for contempt of court. He went on the run to avoid
imprisonment after repeatedly breaching an injunction preventing
him from blocking footpath on his farm, which he maintains is not
a right of way. A county court judge in Carlisle found him guilty
of contempt of court in October after he failed to appear to answer
any charges, and issued a committal order for 14 days. When the police
raided his home they seized a number of firearms. They also revoked
his gun license and charged him with possessing shotguns.
Part 412 of the Kirkham story - A farmer
nearly ended up in prison after appealing against fines of more
than £17,000
for breaching foot and mouth regulations. Liable for more than £21,000,
including costs, Anthony Kirkham appealed before
Chester Crown Court on 16/1/04, believing the penalty, which would
have him paying £500 a month for the next three years, to be
excessive. Kirkham realised part-way through proceedings he should
withdraw his appeal when it became apparent things were taking a
surprising turn. Kirkham
pleaded guilty to three offences before Chester magistrates,
asking for an additional 73 to be taken into account. The additional
charge involved withholding records. The court court heard that Kirkham
had a record of offences of violence, including robbery and assault,
and had served time in prison. Kirkham was ordered to pay £600
costs on top of his original fines.
On 20/1/04 a judge has described as horrific a case in which
a Kilkenny man dumped the stomachs of 41 dead cows on a roadside. Gerard
Duncan (40) from Goodwin Gardens, Kells in Co
Kilkenny was before Kilkenny District Court on two charges. The court
heard that Duncan, who admitted the offences, had got the offal to
feed greyhound pups he was looking after for other people. He said
he would normally have fed nuts to the pups but he had got into cash
flow problems last year. He adjourned sentencing to June pending
a probation report.
A Westport farmer who was involved in an elaborate scam
which defrauded the state of thousands of pounds through illegal
cattle tagging was sentenced to two years in jail at Castlebar District
Court in Westport On 22/1/04. John Kearns (40) of Owenwee, Westport
had pleaded guilty to twenty sample charges before the court, nineteen
related to possession of ear tags and one to possessing vicegrips,
modified to remove cattle tags.
Effluent escaped from an underground tank at a dairy farm and polluted
nearby rivers, leading to the deaths of more than 30,000 fish, Eden
magistrates heard on 30/1/04. William Messenger and
his son Richard,
trading as Messers W Messenger of Howes Farm, Calthwaite,
admitted causing polluting matter to enter a tributary. Magistrates
fined each of them £1,000 and ordered the pair to pay outstanding
costs of £3,627. These costs were made up of £2,160 for
re-stocking the rivers and £1,467 in investigation and legal
costs. Re-stocking was underway and the Messengers had already paid
costs of £5,348.
On 3/2/04 John and Raymond Timperon of Barrock Side
Farm, Carleton, Carlisle, were both given a 12-month discharge and
ordered to pay £976.91
costs, for polluting the River Petteril. Dead fish were spotted near
Carleton and Environment Agency officers found the water was polluted
with farm effluent, which appeared to be coming from a pipe carrying
discharge from the brothers' farm. The pipe was only supposed to
carry clean, uncontaminated run-off, but an inspection found it was
being contaminated from the overflow drain. Officers removed 14 bullhead,
ten trout and one eel from the river.
On
3/2/04 at Carlisle magistrates David Coulthard of Chalkside Farm, Rosley,
Wigton was fined £750 and ordered to pay £2,461.72
costs to the Environment Agency after pleading guilty to polluting
a tributary. This included £500 to pay for restocking the tributary
with healthy fish. The court heard a member of the public had called
the agency to report seeing dead fish. An officer went to Green Quarries
Bridge to investigate and noticed a strong smell of silage. He saw
a tributary discharging what appeared to be farm effluent into the
water and found there was a drainage ditch flowing from the direction
of Chalkside Farm. Fisheries officers visited the area the same day
and collected 700 dead stoneloach, 300 dead minnows, 190 dead brown
trout and a dead eel.
A
donkey found covered in scabs and bald patches and with a large open
wound on her leg would have been in pain, Market Drayton magistrates
heard on 8/2/04. John Savage of Factory Farm, Loppington,
near Wem denies causing unnecessary suffering to a jenny donkey by
omitting to provide the animal proper care and attention. The donkey
- which he estimated was more than 20 years old - had a severely matted
coat, grazes, which had scabbed over, and bald patches. The
trial resumes on 2/3/04.
A family-run abattoir broke the rules
in its treatment of cattle facing imminent slaughter, a court heard.
Burnley magistrates were told on 11/3/04 how nine bulls were left without
water to drink after the butts ran dry at Rossendale
Wholesale Meat Co Ltd's premises at Whitewell Bottom. Two
more were squashed into a pen which was too small. Welfare regulations
state animals should have water, although no food, in the 12 hours
before they are killed. They should also be able to stand up, lie down
and move around in a pen without difficulty. The court was told it
was accepted that a manager at the plant, which was said to have invested
almost a quarter of a million pounds in complying with regulations,
failed to fill up the bulls' water butts as regularly as he should
have. The company, care of Renee Ashworth, Black Pische Slaughter
House, which processes up
to 1,000 animals a week, was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £647
costs. The firm, said to be in financial difficulty, is already paying
off a fine at £300 a month after a previous conviction from last
July when the abattoir failed to give animals access to water. The
company admitted three allegations of failing to comply with a requirement
of the Welfare of Animals regulations last May 14 and a further count
last July 24, in a prosecution brought by DEFRA.
A farmer will be allowed to continue rearing animals despite admitting
six charges of cruelty
and failing to look after her sheep properly.
When RSPCA inspectors examined 75 sheep belonging to Jeannette
Day (55) of Burgess Farm, Walkden, the animals were suffering from sheep
scab disease and four had died from exposure after losing clumps of
wool. Day admitted four charges of causing suffering to the livestock
and two of breaching welfare codes, at Salford magistrates on 19/2/04.
Charges against her husband Derek Day (77) were withdrawn after Mrs
Day said the care of the sheep was her sole responsibility. Out of
the 75 sheep in the field, 71 were suffering from sheep scab disease,
which is caused by an infestation of parasitic mites. The dead sheep
had lost between 40 per cent and 80 per cent of their wool. Jeannette
Day received a two-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £2,910
in costs.
Domestic
Two burglars who beheaded a cat and cooked a live mouse in a microwave
have been jailed for three years each. Steven
Browitt (35) of Quarry
Place, Scholes, and Andrew Maloney (25) of Engineer
Street, Higher Ince used a blunt axe to behead Greta, a blind 19-year-old
tortoiseshell cat, during a break-in in Wigan. They left her severed
head on a living room coffee table for owner to find when he returned
home. Browitt and Maloney killed the mouse by putting it in the microwave
along with some vegetables. The pair, who also ransacked the house,
broke windows and smeared food around the kitchen, admitted burglary
with intent to cause criminal damage at an earlier hearing. They
were each sentenced to three years imprisonment when they appeared
at Bolton Crown Court on 9/1/04.
On 11/11/03 Glyndwr Jones (53) and his wife Margaret (47)
were been banned from running an informal animal rescue centre at their
home. Both were found guilty at Swansea 
magistrates
of 32 counts of causing animals unnecessary suffering. Inspectors from
the RSPCA discovered 168 animals at their home in Llanerch Crescent
- a three-bedroomed home they also shared with four of their children.
Margaret Jones had been taking in unwanted animals for six years, although
both she and her husband insisted he was not actively involved in the
project. At the time of the offences a year ago, they were caring
for 56 cats, four dogs, 26 reptiles, 22 rabbits, 40 small mammals,
nine ferrets, 10 tarantulas and an axolotyl (small lizard). Both
were given a conditional discharge for each offence
and disqualified for life from keeping any animal. However, the district
judge presiding over the case made an exception - allowing them to
keep one dog, three cats and one rabbit each as pets. They were also
told they have to pay £300
costs. The couple have vowed to appeal against the sentence.
On
14/1/04 Roberta Mitchell (58) of Wood Cottage,
Bettisfield, near Ellesmere was found guilty of causing unnecessary
suffering to dozens of dogs and two ponies. was found guilty of 17
charges of causing unnecessary suffering to the animals. At Flint magistrates
they adjourned sentencing for a pre-sentence report until 19/2 04 at
Wrexham magistrates. The court heard how the RSPCA seized more than
30 dogs from Mitchell's home following a visit by RSPCA officers, health
officials and police.
A pensioner who threw a puppy from a sixth floor flat after his
wife asked him to find it a new home has been banned from owning
pets for life. George Smart (74) of Tunbridge Street, central London
was branded callous and cruel by Highbury Corner magistrates on 19/1/04
after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to the young dog. He
received a two month suspended prison sentence. The dog died when
she plunged more than 100ft to the ground after being thrown off
the balcony of Smart's then apartment in Camden. Smart admitted
one count of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
The pet columnist of The Hounslow Chronicle was investigated by the
RSPCA after allegations of animal cruelty. Daphne Rix (72), a columnist
for the paper and founder of a pets charity People and Pets, was taken
into custody by police, after a raid on her home in Ouseley Road, Wraysbury
on 19/2/04.
Peter Bebbington (18) was jailed on 27/2/04 after killing his girlfriend’s
cat, slicing off its paws and giving them to her, saying they would “bring
her luck”. Bebbington went berserk after a row. He waited until
Michelle Tomkinson was out and beat the pet cat to death. He shoved
another cat into a washing machine. Michelle returned home in Crewe
in time to save it, but was slammed against a wall by Bebbington. He
then tied a noose around the neck of the cat and said: “You have
been found guilty and will be hung.” He cut the paws off, ate
a pizza and refused to allow Michelle to leave until the next day,
when she raised the alarm. Chester Crown Court heard Bebbington had
become “desensitised” while working in an abattoir. Bebbington
was handed eight months in a young offenders’ institute after
admitting animal cruelty and a further 12 months for affray.
A married police couple have been found guilty of a cruelty charge
against their pet cat. Beverley
(42) and Derek Lodge (42) denied causing
unnecessary suffering to their 15-year-old cat by failing to take him
to see a vet. When the RSPCA found him after a report by a neighbour
the cat was almost half its ideal weight. His right eye had shrunk
into its skull owing to an untreated tumour and the animal could not
walk straight because of a central nervous system disorder. The couple,
both serving officers with Lancashire Police live in Shaws Road, Southport.
Sadly, the cat was put down as was in the last stages of a terminal
disease. On 4/3/04 Magistrates at Wigan gave the couple a 12-month
conditional discharge and ordered them to pay £1,000 between
them towards costs. A Lancashire Police spokesman said no decision
had been made on disciplinary action against the couple.
A couple who stuffed scores of dead exotic animals - including three
crocodiles - into their home freezer were jailed on 10/3/04. Eric
Dowers (42) and his wife Janice (38) of Tydd St Giles near Wisbech,
Cambridgeshire, were given 35-day jail sentences and banned for life
from keeping animals after a hearing before magistrates in Wisbech.
Magistrates were told RSPCA inspectors had found more than 80 dead
exotic animals stuffed into a defunct freezer or floating in tanks
of putrid water. A further 40 live animals were found alongside them,
living in appalling conditions. Among the dead animals were three crocodiles,
63 turtles and tortoises, an iguana, two polecats and wild rats and
snakes. The Dowers admitted 24 charges of causing unnecessary suffering
to 41 animals. Live animals found suffering at the house included four
tortoises, five turtles, a hawk, two rat snakes, a python, two eagle
owls, a kestrel, two rabbits, and seven domestic ducks.
A pensioner who lied about shooting a cat with an air rifle was caught
out when the RSPCA called in a ballistics expert. William Sloane (66)
from Highfield Place, Prestwich, tried to hide his gun when police
arrived and denied shooting his neighbour's cat. But he later admitted
shooting the five-year-old cat when the ballistics expert said a pellet
recovered from the cat's hind leg could only have come from his gun.
At Manchester magistrates on 19/3/04 Sloane was fined £500 and
ordered to pay £500 costs and £100 compensation. The good
news is that the cat has now made a good recovery.
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