Vermin Patrol 2005 - Part 1

Badgers

On the 8/7/04 a Dean Quantrell (44) from Liverpool was imprisoned for 3 months and banned from keeping any animals for 3 years. Quantrell was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a Patterdale terrier by failing to obtain treatment for a severe and infected injury to the mouth. The dog was examined by a vet with expertise in recognising injuries in dogs. He concluded that the injury was consistent with those inflicted by a badger snout. Several other old scars were also noted on the dog. Whilst it was not possible to prove when or where the dog had been in conflict with a badger or who was responsible for the badger fighting, Quantrell was charged under the Protection of Animals Act 1911.

A convicted badger who was said to "despise" homosexuals has been banned from going within 100m of his gay MP. Paul Lewis Rees (38) of Llwynypia, Rhondda, admitted harassing Chris Bryant between 2001 and 2004. Rhondda magistrates heard on 2/3/05 how Rees, harassed the Rhondda MP during political surgeries. A two-year restraining order imposed on Rees also banned him from making attacks on Bryant's sexuality and from threatening or doing anything in terms of harassing him. Rees was also sentenced to a 220-hour community punishment order, to be completed within a year.

Bloodsports

On 16/8/04 at Shrewsbury Crown Court John Frederick Twist, gamekeeper for the Marrington Shoot near Chirbury in Shropshire, pleaded guilty to two offences contrary to the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985. A police search revealed a number of pesticides, including Cymag and Talunex. They were found stored on a shelf in an unmarked wooden shed after Twist had denied storing any pesticides at this location. Twist was fined £500 and one of his employers, John Wilde, from Kenley in Shropshire, pleaded guilty to two charges. These related to failing to provide appropriate instruction, training and guidance for pesticide storage, as well as permitting the unsafe storage of Talunex. Wilde received a12-month conditional discharge and costs of £330.

On 6/12/04 a Derbyshire gamekeeper found guilty of persecuting rare birds in the Peak District has lost his appeal against a three month suspended prison sentence. John Cripps (60) of of Keeper's Cottage, Ronksley, Derbyshire, was convicted in February of destroying the eggs of the rare Goshawk. After a three-day hearing, Derby Crown Court upheld the original sentence - which is suspended for two years.

Seven people appeared at Bourne magistrates on 23/12/04 to face charges connected to hare coursing illegally on private property. Warrants were issued to a further 17 people but they failed to attend court to answer. In court were Joseph Lee (17), David O'Connor (26), Sean Page (22) and a 13-year-old boy, all from Cambridgeshire, each admitted trespassing in the pursuit of game. Lee, O'Connor and Page were each fined £480 with £20 costs, and the 13-year-old received a six-month conditional discharge with £20 costs. Martin Doherty (24), from the West Midlands, was fined a total of £775 with £30 costs after admitting taking game on a Sunday and trespassing in the pursuit of game. Patrick Doherty (57), also from the West Midlands, was fined a total of £1,000 plus £30 costs after admitting the same charges. John Charles Smith, from Birmingham, admitted trespassing in the pursuit of game and taking game on a Sunday. He will be sentenced at a later date. Smith denies a charge of driving a Subaru estate car on private land. His case has been adjourned to 11/1/05.

A hare courser caught operating on two farms was fined £650 and banned from driving for six months. Danny Mobey (35) from Wallingford in Oxfordshire was brought before magistrates at Ely. The court was told that magistrates had a discretion to ban hare coursers from driving under the Criminal Courts Sentencing Act, because vehicles were used during the offence. Mobey admitted he was part of group of hare coursers. Mobey was also ordered to pay £43 costs. Seven other men accused of the same illegal hare coursing were due in court, but had their case adjourned until 27/1/05.

Six men accused of taking part in illegal hare coursing are due to appear at Ely magistrates on 3/2/05. All six men have been charged with trespass in pursuit of game. Those charged are Larry Connors (22) of Crop Common, Hatfield, Hertfordshire; Francis Connors (23) of Pilgrims Lane, Thurrock, Essex; Thomas Connors (26) of Carshelton Road, Surrey; Martin Hanrahan (33) of The Avenue, Bentley, Doncaster; Felix Connors (41) of Brookwood Lane Road, Guildford; and a 17- year-old man from Banstead, Surrey. The men were due to appear in court on 6/1/05 to answer the charges but as all failed to appear the hearings were adjourned until 3/2/05. On 10/2/05 Larry Connors was fined £500 and also banned from taking out a driving licence for the next nine months.

On 13/1/05 two hare coursers were each fined £500 with £150 costs for operating on farms in Ely. The court heard how the police helicopter was used to catch eight men and six dogs hare coursing. Patrick Connors (41) of Banstead, Surrey and Francis Coyle (45) of Thurrock, Essex, both admitted daytime trespass in pursuit of game. The court was told that Connors' four-wheel drive vehicle was seized by police at the time of the arrest, but the magistrates refused to make a confiscation order for the vehicle this week, after hearing that the loss of his vehicle had put Connors out of work.

A gamekeeper and her assistant were jailed for three months on 14/1/05 for firing their shotguns when they encountered an illegal rave. A judge said that he recognised that many law-abiding people would take the view that the organisers and revellers got what they deserved when the pair shot at speakers and car tyres. He could not overlook the fact that Jessica Allinson (46) from Pursers Lane, Peaslake, Surrey and her under-keeper, Alexander Szyndel (28) of of Scotland Lane, Haslemere, Surrey discharged their double-barrelled guns where people were present. These offences are, in my judgment, so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified the judge told Guildford Crown Court. A person who is angry has no business loading a shotgun. The possibility of causing injury by those who have momentarily lost their temper is only too obvious. If this court were to overlook what you did it might lead to anyone in lawful possession of a shotgun and not acting in lawful self-defence feeling free to discharge it near to any trespassers on their land and to point a loaded shotgun at them. They in turn might then decide to arm themselves against this possibility and that would lead rapidly to a breakdown in law and order. Both had pleaded guilty to four charges of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and causing criminal damage. Allinson has since lost her job as a gamekeeper and the judge revoked her licence and ordered that the two weapons be confiscated.

Philadelphia - A pit bull enthusiast who sold videos of dogfights and dogs attacking a pig became the first person on 14/1/05 to be convicted under a federal law banning depictions of cruelty to animals. Robert Stevens (64) of Pittsville, Virginia, was found guilty in a Pittsburgh court of selling three videos a jury decided violated the ban on depicting the intentional maiming, mutilation or torture of animals or any wounding or killing. Stevens who runs a company called Dogs of Velvet and Steel, also sold "break sticks" and "spring poles," which are used to condition pit bulls for fighting. Stevens advertised the videos in an underground dog-fighting paper called the Sporting Dog Journal, which reports the results of illegal dog fights. He was caught by undercover law enforcement officials posing as customers. The District Judge also banned Stevens from owning, breeding, training or selling pit bulls or possessing any device used in dog fighting. The court rejected Stevens' argument that banning the videos denied his First Amendment rights of free speech. Stevens faces up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of $750,000. His sentencing was set for 21/4/05.

A West Pennard farmer who attended the bloodsport demo at Parliament Square on 15/9/04 appeared before Wells magistrates on 20/1/05 after he admitted threatening behaviour. Brett George Parsons (45) of Sticklynch initially appeared at Camberwell Green magistrates when he was made the subject of a 75-hour community punishment order. The community order was revoked and replaced by a £100 fine.

Philip Rowe (50) appeared at Plymouth Crown Court on 21/1/05 accused of the manslaughter of his teenage stepson, who was shot during a night-time "lamping" expedition. Rowe of Stafford Lane, Colyford, spoke only to confirm his name. He was not asked to enter a plea and was given bail until a plea and directions hearing on 8/4/05.

Eight alleged hare coursers appeared before Ely magistrates on 28/1/05. They are Riley Smith (28) from Sandy Lane in Waterside, Isleham; Elijah Wilson (54) from Hasse Road, Soham; Sean Page (22) and Hiram Wilson (31) from Sandy Park in Fen Road, Chesterton; James Ball (22) from Sandy Park in Skeltons Drove, Beck Row; and Albert Smith (20), Reginald Wilson (51) and Terry Smith (21) from Oxney Road Caravan Site, Peterborough were accused of daytime trespass by five or more people in the pursuit of game. They pleaded not guilty to the charge at a pre-trial hearing. They were released on bail and will next appear before Ely magistrates on 3/3/05.

A hunt supporter who protested at the House of Commons along with others has appeared before city magistrates on a firearms offence. David Redvers (34) of Corsend Farm, Corsend Road, Hartpury pleaded guilty on 1/2/05 to failing to comply with a condition of his firearms certificate. When Police officers executed a search at the his home they found the property to be unoccupied. They found four rounds of .22 ammunition on a windowsill and more live rounds in a bowl in one of the bedrooms. The officers returned the following day and seized the ammunition. Conditions for his firearms certificate stipulate that ammunition should be securely locked away and not left on display for all and sundry. Magistrates fined him £350 and ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £55. Magistrates made no order for the confiscation of the defendant's firearms or ammunition, but they decided to leave that matter in the hands of the police.

A gang of men from Hampshire caught hare-coursing illegally in the Fens had their dogs and cars confiscated by Fenland magistrates on 14/2/05 to stop them reoffending. Leslie Smith (50) of Alton; John Smith (29) of Bordon; Glenn Keet (40) of Bordon; Simon Sloane (31) of Alton; and Stephen Wells (46) of Bordon, were also banned from driving for three months and fined £350 each with £35 costs after admitting trespassing in pursuit of game with dogs.

Six men caught hare-coursing illegally on farmland in West Norfolk were all banned from driving and fined a total of £4000 on 22/2/05 . They appeared at King's Lynn magistrates and admitted one charge each of trespassing in pursuit of game. Joseph Jefford (21) of Scotland Road, James Crickmore (24) and William Winter (27) of separate addresses in Fen Road, Chesterton, near Cambridge; Joseph Lee (17) of Green End, Landbeach, near Cambridge; Matthew Wenman (20) of Ellens Green, Horsham, West Sussex, and Joe Winter (31) of White Rose Walk, Cambridge, were all unrepresented in court. Crickmore and Jefford, who have similar previous convictions, were each fined £1000, with the remaining four defendants each given a £500 fine. All were banned from driving until 1/4/05. The bench also ordered the forfeiture of their two vehicles a Toyota and Land Rover and told each defendant to pay £15 towards costs. John Jefford (28) of Scotland Road; Christopher Jenkins (19) and Henry Lee, of separate addresses in Fen Road, Chesterton, near Cambridge, and John Lee (31) of Gypsy Lane, Wellingborough, were all convicted of the same offence in their absence. On 22/4/05 magistrates issued warrants for the arrest of two men caught hare coursing in West Norfolk after they failed to turn up at court. The bench at King's Lynn ordered Henry Lee and John Lee should be tracked down. The pai were convicted in their absence in March and were due to be sentenced. John Jefford and Christopher Jenkins both of separate addresses in Chesterton, had been convicted in their absence. Both were banned from driving for 28 days, fined £500 each and ordered to pay £15 costs each. Following an appeal at the start of April Joseph Jefford, James Crickmore, William Winter, Joseph Lee, Matthew Wenman and Joe Winter all appealed against their disqualifications at Lynn Crown Court. The appeal was upheld with the exception of Joe Winter. The remaining five had their bans reduced to periods of 28 days and 14 days.

On 23/2/05 police gave a verbal caution to a hunt supporter after eggs were thrown at Chancellor Gordon Brown during a visit to Leek.

On 26/2/05 a man was charged on three counts of Actual Bodily Harm, criminal damage and possession of a bladed article. The charges at Pulborough police station follow an incident on 8/1/05 January during a meet of the Crawley and Horsham Hunt in West Sussex when a man is alleged to have thrown a bucket of ditch water through the window of anti-hunt protester’s Landrover and then assaulted three women protesters with a stick before smashing the vehicle's rear window.

Two men caught illegally hare coursing have been fined and the Land Rover they used to carry their dogs is to be destroyed. On 28/2/05 Ipswich magistrates ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the Land Rover after the men pleaded guilty to entering the land as trespassers in search of game. Kenneth Smith (38) of Meadow Road, Farnborough and Derek Tomlin (55) of Newbury Avenue, Enfield Lock were charged under the Game Act 1831 after witnesses saw their dogs chase and kill a hare on land. Magistrates fined Smith and Tomlin £100 each for trespassing in search of game and ordered them each to pay £43 costs.

A member of the Essex Farmers and Union foxhunt was arrested on 5/3/05 after a hunt saboteur was allegedly struck on the head with a riding crop. The following Saturday (12/3/05) another member of the Essex Farmers and Union foxhunt was also arrested on suspicion of causing Actual Bodily Harm and Criminal Damage, following a series of threats and attacks on hunt saboteurs and their vehicles. (Click on thumbnails below to see larger image)

On 23/3/05 a 37-year-old farmer was cautioned for throwing offal at Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw during a pro-hunting demonstration. Mr Bradshaw received a cut near his right eye after the protester threw a piece of hollowed-out fruit containing entrails at him in Exeter in January 20005. Devon and Cornwall Police arrested the man, from Ashburton on suspicion of assault. He was questioned before receiving an official caution and released. About 70 bloodsports supporters shouted slogans as Mr Bradshaw arrived and one threw the offal. The man cautioned for throwing the offal made a full apology to Mr Bradshaw and gave a donation to the Fishermen's Mission.

A friend of William and Harry has been fined for hurling tomatoes at Tony Blair in a pro-bloodsports stunt. Harry Meade spent six hours in police cells after the attack on 28/3/05 at a church. The son of Richard Meade said yesterday: "I fired off two tomatoes which hit the building. Blair's suit was splashed with juice. He looked very hacked off." Meade (22) from West Littleton, Gloucestershire received a fixed penalty £80 fine. Jamie Wells (22) from Shipton Moyne in Gloucestershire and Ed Ackerman (21) from West Kington also detained after the incident in Kennington, South London, were cautioned and freed after a spell in the cells. Meade who is a member of the Beaufort Hunt disrupted the Labour Party conference and blocked the Commons with a horse box in protest at the fox hunt ban.

On 12/4/05 at Haywards Heath magistrates Joseph Keet (54) from North Mundham, Chichester, West Sussex, was jailed for 90 days for organising a cockfight in which one bird was killed and several others injured. Keet (see pic left) was found guilty of four charges relating to the illegal cockfight. The RSPCA and Sussex Police raided the cockfight after being tipped off. They went to Keet's Southgate Duck Nursery, in North Mundham, and discovered cockerels already fighting in a pit made out of hay bales. Fifteen birds were taken to vets for treatment. The court heard how one was already dead while a number of others had bleeding wounds and swollen eyelids caused by recent fighting. They had been used in a "naked heel" event, meaning the cockerels were not made to fight with artificial spurs attached to their legs. A video tape containing footage of two cockfighting bouts was later recovered. When the authorities arrived a number of men tried to flee the scene but were arrested. Keet, described in court as the "main player", had denied charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals, aiding and abetting, being present at a cockfight and using his premises for a cockfight. He was given a 90-day prison sentence, fined a total of £5,000, and banned from owning a cockerel for life. Nine other men were each fined a total of £400 for their involvement. William Green (28) from Cowplain, Hampshire; Stephen James Harrington (29) from Horndean, Hampshire; James Stephen Keet (29) from Whitehill, West Sussex; Frank Smith (37), from Tangmere, West Sussex; and George Sean Stonestreet (19) and James Christopher Bird (21) both from Hailsham, East Sussex, had previously pleaded guilty to attending a cockfight. Bill Smith (44) from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, pleaded guilty to attending a cockfight but was found not guilty of aiding and abetting and of causing unnecessary suffering. Ashley O'Brien (35) from Fareham, Hampshire and George Ripley (24) from Westham, East Sussex, both pleaded not guilty to causing unnecessary suffering, aiding and abetting and of being present at a cockfight. They were found not guilty of the first two charges but guilty of being at the cockfight.

William Green	Stephen Harrington	James Keet	Frank Smith	George Stonestreet
James Bird	Bill Smith	Ashley O'Brein	George Ripley

On 15/4/05 a man was arrested on suspicion of being involved in cockfighting, following a joint operation between police and the RSPCA earlier this week. Officers from the RSPCA's special operations unit, along with uniformed inspectors and Humberside Police, raided two premises in the Scunthorpe area. An RSPCA spokeswoman said a 21-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of cockfighting and was later interviewed at the police station. Two cockerels were seized, and they are currently being cared for by the charity. It is believed two other people were involved in the incident and investigations are proceeding into their whereabouts.

Police have fined two bloodpsorts protesters who were arrested following egg-throwing incidents during Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to Northamptonshire on 17/4/05. An 18-year-old man from Holcot and a 20-year-old woman from Weston-by-Welland, near Corby, were both charged under section five of the Public Order Act and issued with £80 fixed penalty fines by Northamptonshire Police. Also on the same day while John Prescott was in Northampton Harriet Sluman (20) from Market Harborough given was also given an on-the-spot £80 fine. Sluman who is a supporter of the Woodland Pytchley hunt was fined after throwing an egg at Prescott.

Pittsburgh (AP) - A man was sentenced to more than three years in prison 21/4/05 for selling videotapes of fighting pit bulls. Robert Stevens (64) of Pittsville, Va., became the first person sentenced under a 1999 federal animal cruelty law. He was convicted of three counts of selling depictions of animal cruelty. Stevens, tried in Pittsburgh because the tapes sold from his home were bought by the Pennsylvania state police and federal Department of Agriculture agents, sold two videos featuring dog fighting montages and a third showing pit pulls attacking hogs. Stevens' lawyer said the law is overly broad and violates Stevens' First Amendment right to freedom of expression. On the same day, a judge in Mobile, Ala., sentenced Walter T. Ware to 40 years in prison for dog fighting and possession of steroids that could be used to enhance the dogs' performance. Several witnesses testified at trial that most of the 23 pit bulls found his property in December 2003 were disfigured with injuries.

A hunt supporter has been accused of stealing more than £4,500 from a Devon hunt supporters' club while she was its treasurer. Naomi Tamzin Barrett (41) of Tythebarn, Branscombe, Seaton, appeared before Exeter magistrates on 21/4/05. She faced three charges of stealing cash totalling £4,626 from the Axe Valley Hunt Supporters' Club. She was also alleged to have stolen £372.97 from the East Devon Hunt Pony Club. Barrett was further accused of using a false instrument - a Lloyds TSB Bank statement - with the intention of inducing Richard Dormor and members of the Axe Valley Hunt Supporters' Club to accept it as genuine. She was also charged with falsifying a cheque stub from an account required for accounting purposes. Barrett will next appear before Exeter magistrates 3/6/05 for a committal. She was released on unconditional bail.
A man with a conviction for dog fighting has continued to own dangerous pitbulls despite a lifetime ban on owning animals, a court heard. Anthony Mullen (47) was discovered with two pitbull terriers in a raid by the RSPCA and police at Tarragon Gardens, Northfield, Birmingham magistrates were told on 25/4/05. The raid on his home uncovered "dog-fighting paraphernalia" including weighing scales, a treadmill, and a breaking stick, used to separate dogs during an organised fight. The two dogs were found to have scars and injuries consistent with dog fighting. Mullen was jailed for three months and banned from owning dogs for life following a court case in Mansfield, in 2001, where he was found guilty of involvement in dog fighting. During the raid - inspectors found 11 dogs, including puppies. Mullen is charged with breaching the original order banning him from owning dogs. His partner, Susan Hancock (48) who lives at the same address, is charged with aiding and abetting the breach. Both are accused of possession of two illegal pitbulls. Mullen and Hancock deny the charges. Mullen claims the dogs belonged to Hancock and he had nothing to do with them. They both say the dogs are not pitbulls but Staffordshire Bull terriers.

Two gamekeepers were fined £2,000 each for clubbing a bird of prey to death. Michael Clare (23) of Cookshall Lane, High Wycombe was secretly filmed battering a common buzzard with a stick. While under-gamekeeper Clare killed the bird, which was caught in a trap, his superior Leslie Morris (36) also of Cookshall Lane, watched on and failed to intervene. Morris and Clare bred pheasants and partridges on the Dashwood Estate in West Wycombe for the Bradenham Hill shoot. High Wycombe magistrates heard on 29/4/05 Clare claim he killed the bird to put it out of its misery after it had broken its leg. The pair were found guilty of killing a wild bird and having in their possession or control a live wild bird. Morris and Clare were ordered to pay £500 costs in addition to the fines.

Three hare coursers from Cambridge have been fined £200 each for trespassing while hunting hares with their lurchers. At Cambridge magistrates on 3/5/05 John Burton (59), Norman Burton Snr (57) and Norman Burton Jnr (31) all from Grange Park, Fen Road, Chesterton, all pleaded guilty to daytime trespass in pursuit of game. Both Norman Burtons also admitted obstructing a police officer during the incident and were each given a conditional discharge of 12 months. All three were ordered to pay £35 costs each.

Otis Ferry who is the joint master and huntsman of the South Shropshire Foxhounds was arrested by police after shouting at Tony Blair as he arrived at an election party at the National Portrait Gallery on 6/5/05. Ferry lunged over a barrier at the rear entrance to the building and shouted in Mr Blair's face before a plain clothes policeman stepped in to block him. As he was bundled away by uniformed officers Mr Ferry shouted: "I've had enough of this Government." He was held for alleged public order offences and were taken to a central London police station for questioning.

Eggs/Birds

In Blacon, Cheshire during May 2004 RSPCA officers found a stuffed goldfinch on a limed branch, it was being used to attract wild finches to a seed feeder, which was also limed. At Chester magistrates on 4/10/04 Hakan Gulcicek of Ludlow Road, Blacon pleaded guilty to nine counts of possession of wild birds, taking a wild bird and possession of trapping equipment. He was fined £450 and ordered to pay £485 costs. The birds involved were 13 greenfinches, 14 siskins, 7 goldfinches and a chaffinch.

Parrot smuggler Harry Sissen of Cornhill Farm, East Cowton, near Northallerton,was jailed for 21 months by Northallerton Magistrates, after failing to pay a £150,000 court order. In July 2004, Sissen was ordered to sell land to pay a £150,000 confiscation order or face a further jail sentence. Sissen has already spent eight months behind bars after a court found him guilty in 2000 of smuggling three critically endangered Lear’s macaws into the country.

A serial wildlife criminal has been jailed for six months for illegally taking rare birds' eggs from a nature reserve. Matthew Gonshaw (42) of Cherrywood Close, Bow, London was convicted of illegally taking rare birds' eggs from sites in Wales and Kent. Gonshaw also pleaded guilty to the possession of 578 wild birds' eggs at Thames magistrates on 20/1/05. It is the third time Gonshaw has been jailed for egg collecting offences, he was jailed for three months in April 2002 and four months in December 2004. Gonshaw was jailed for three months for taking four black-tailed godwit eggs. He was also sentenced to three months, to run concurrently, for taking three barn owl eggs from Kent; three months, to run concurrently, for taking three red kite eggs from Wales; and three months, to run consecutively, for taking two red kite eggs from Wales. Six other charges, including four counts of possession of 578 eggs and two of possession of equipment for committing offences, received no additional penalty.

Fourteen birds trapped illegally were rescued from a house in Winsford by the RSPCA. It is believed the 11 goldfinches and three chaffinches were trapped, possibly either to be sold on or kept as pets. A 33-year-old was questioned by RSPCA officers on suspicion of animal cruelty and various offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Bird-related paraphernalia including nets, traps and lime were also found at the premises.

Equine

On 22/2/2005 at Redditch magistrates Derek Monkton of 49 Broad Street, Bromsgrove, was sentenced to seven weeks imprisonment and a lifetime ban on keeping horses after causing unnecessary suffering to 3 young ponies in his possession.

A pensioner who neglected 11 ponies admitted 11 counts of cruelty on 19/4/05 at Burnley magistrates. The horses were starving, emaciated, had worms and lice and two were in such a bad state they were days from death. The ponies, two belonging to the grandchildren of farmer John Askew (69) of Heights Farm, Rooley Moor Road, Burnley were taken away from land at and nursed back to health in a near £150,000 RSPCA rescue operation. Seven further similar allegations were dismissed. The case was adjourned until 16/5/05 for pre-sentence reports. (previous conviction in 2002)

A Nantwich farming couple have been banned from keeping horses for the rest of their lives. The ban was imposed by South Cheshire magistrates on 26/4/05 after Marshall and Susan Foster of Whitchurch Road, Sound were found guilty of two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to two horses, one of which had to be destroyed. The court was told the Fosters had 57 horses on their farm as well as a variety of other animals. Susan Foster (57) was also fined £500 on each of the two charges and her husband Marshall Foster (57) was fined £250 on each charge. Susan Foster was ordered to pay £4,000 in costs and legal fees and Marshall Foster a total of £1,836.79.

Assorted

A self-proclaimed animal rescuer was convicted of cruelty after investigators raided his compound and found dead tiger cubs stored in a freezer and dozens of big cat carcases strewn about the property. John Weinhart (62) was found guilty on 56 of 61 charges, including animal cruelty and child endangerment. He could face more than 14 years in prison when he is sentenced in March. Weinhart was arrested following a raid on his property in Riverside County, where California game officials had been told he was keeping two young tigers and two alligators without permits. Investigators allegedly found 11 newborn tiger and leopard cubs living in an attic space, 58 frozen tiger cub carcases and the rotting or mummified carcases of at least 30 exotic cats scattered around the property, some tied to abandoned cars. Investigators also found Weinhart’s eight-year-old son in the filthy home, where alligators were kept in a bath and syringes and powerful animal tranquillisers were stored in an unlocked fridge. Weinhart's partner Marla Jean Smith (49) pleaded guilty.

Sheep that were killed in squalid conditions at an unlicensed slaughterhouse were delivered to shops across Bradford and Keighley, Harrogate magistrates' heard on 21/2/05. Carcasses which were unloaded in Marsh Street, Bradford, were still warm and had been heavily contaminated with faeces. The meat among nearly 3,000 sheep killed in a year at Upper Austby Farm at Langbar, near Ilkley was seized by Bradford Council officials to prevent it getting into the food chain. Magistrates heard that conditions at the farm and slaughterhouse run by Harold Gray and his son, Michael, were exposed when animal welfare activists secretly filmed the sheep being killed. The conditions in which the animals were being killed led Harold Gray (62) his business partner, Michael Gray (31) and a slaughterman, Samaullah Patel (41) of Sunningdale Road, Bolton, to plead guilty to cruelty charges. Patel admitted three offences of causing avoidable suffering to sheep during slaughtering filmed by the animal welfare activists. The Grays each pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Patel and three offences of causing unnecessary suffering to sheep. They also admitted 11 offences of contravening the post-BSE protection regulations, failing to dispose properly of high-risk material and breaching rules on cattle movements, passports and records. A trial against the Grays continued after they each pleaded not guilty to operating an unlicensed slaughterhouse.

Scotland's first prosecution for illegal slaughter for the smokies trade has resulted in a six-month prison sentence for a man who has previous convictions for illegal slaughter and animal cruelty. Julian Jones formerly of Backies Farm, Deskford, was sentenced at Elgin sheriffs court on 3/3/05 for illegally killing 62 sheep to produce singed sheep carcasses in their skin, or smokies. Jones pleaded guilty to five food safety and animal welfare offences, including slaughtering animals without a licence, preparing carcasses for human consumption in dirty, unhygienic conditions and failing to remove specified risk material. An outbuilding was found to be awash with blood, faeces and sheep entrails. Jones was banned for life from keeping animals by a Welsh court in 1999. In December, he was fined £250 and given a community punishment order at Haringey crown court after the seizure of 200 smokie carcasses and 70 decomposing sheep heads in June 2002.

A woman alleged to have arrived at London's Heathrow Airport with more than 16st (104kg) of snails in her luggage is to due in court. Nigerian Surat Oluyemisi Anibaba (42) was held on 8/3/05 after arriving from Lagos, Nigeria. Customs officers searched Anibaba and she was arrested and charged with importing prohibited foodstuffs. She has been bailed and is due to appear before magistrates in Uxbridge later.

Sydney, Australia - The owner of the wildlife park where Australian television series Skippy was filmed was fined for animal cruelty on 23/3/05 after pleading guilty to neglecting wildlife in his care. A Sydney court fined Naish Hogan (52) 4,000 dollars (3,200 US) after he admitted to 30 counts of failing to provide proper and sufficient food to seven koalas and 23 kangaroos and wallabies at the Waratah Park wildlife sanctuary in Sydney's north. When animal welfare officers raided the property they found neglected animals on the brink of death.

In March 2005 Peter Dennis of Spennymoor, County Durham was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £500 costs after being found guilty of recklessly disturbing great crested newts. Despite advice given by English Nature Dennis went ahead and cleared a pond of weeds on land that he was developing. Dennis admitted that he removed the weed and then did not check it after removal. When the police investigated they found some newts had been killed and others were trapped in the removed weed. On 24/4/05 Mark Andrew Turner of Rochford in Essex was convicted for the offence of damaging the resting place of Great Crested Newts. He was fined £250 with £35 costs.

A father and son were jailed for three months over the illegal running of a slaughterhouse. Harold Gray (62) and his son Michael (31) were jailed at Harrogate magistrates on 7/4/05. A third man, Sumaullah Patel (41) of Sunningdale Road, Bolton who acted as a halal slaughterman, was jailed for two months for carrying out botched sheep killings on the farm at Langbar, North Yorks. The illegal slaughterhouse had an open sewer running through the middle of it with human faeces present. A chopping board was covered in bird droppings and the meat had maggots in it and meat hooks were rusty, the court was told. Harold Gray has previous convictions for cruelty to farm livestock and failing to comply with post-BSE control measures and over the past few years had been fined £12,000. Patel admitted three offences of causing avoidable suffering to sheep during slaughter. The Grays each pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Patel, and three offences of causing unnecessary suffering to sheep. The Grays also admitted 11 offences of contravening the post BSE section regulations, failing to dispose properly of high risk material and breaching rules on cattle movements, passports and records. The Grays denied the charge of running an unlicensed slaughterhouse on the farm, but were convicted at an earlier hearing. Harold Gray was banned from keeping cattle and sheep for 10 years while his son was banned for five years.

Farm Animals (Guardians Of The Land - My Arse!!!)

A farmer who abandoned 35 worm-infested sheep and cattle to waste away, has narrowly avoided being sent to prison. Mostyn Jones (67) left his entire stock of sheep and cows to starve to death at Cefn Uchaf Farm in Glynneath. Jones admitted two counts of animal cruelty and failing to comply with animal disposal regulations at Neath magistrate's court on 23/12/04. Jones was given a suspended sentence of three months for 18 months and ordered to pay costs of £1,077.

A former Uttoxeter farmer banned from keeping animals then later caught half-naked in a dimly lit shed with a goat, has been the victim of an animal rights hate campaign, an appeal court heard. Police and an RSPCA officer acting on a tip-off found Richard Baskerville in an outbuilding on Cannock Chase two years after he received a decade-long prohibition from looking after animals. Baskerville was convicted at Stafford magistrates in July this 2004 of two offences of breaching the disqualification, when he was fined £400 and ordered to pay £100 costs. Richard Baskerville (65) of Prescot Avenue, Stafford, appealed to Stafford Crown Court on 21/12/04 against the magistrates decision, but the appeal was dismissed. Baskerville was ordered to pay a further £100 towards the costs of the appeal. Baskerville was originally banned in 2001 for 37 offences involving cruelty to animals. In April, 2003, he was convicted of breaching the disqualification, but given an absolute discharge on the grounds that he did not fully understand the terms of the ban. Just three months later, though, he was found partially clothed in a shed and behind a goat which was pinioned in a wooden frame. A mirror was hung on the wall in front. "Forensic tests proved negative and the only matters he faced were having custody of the goat."

John Varney a livestock dealer who was farming at Colloe Grove Farm at Littledean in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, was jailed for eight months on 22/2/05 by Gloucester magistrates. Varney pleaded guilty to a total of 26 charges of failing to have his cattle TB tested, moving cattle whilst under TB restrictions, breaching the 6 day standstill, and obtaining money by applying false trade descriptions to cattle. He also failed to record movements of livestock moving off and on to the farm he was renting and failed to notify movements of cattle.

On 8/3/05 a farmer from Gloucestershire was been jailed for his "blatant flouting of disease control rules". Nigel Alfred Jackson from Cowley, Cheltenham, was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, having pleaded guilty to 11 cattle and sheep movement and other livestock offences. He also asked for a further 48 similar offences to be taken into consideration. Jackson pleaded guilty in November 2004 to taking 19 cattle to Cirencester Market in breach of TB restrictions that were in place on his farm, despite the possible disease implications to other farmers. He also falsified the date of birth of an animal born on his farm in order to gain a cattle passport so it would be eligible for the human food chain. He failed to record and report livestock movements onto and off his farm, or the deaths of cattle and did not return their passports to the appropriate authority after their deaths. Jackson committed a further 8 offences after the original sentencing date, including failing to record movements of sheep and goats off his farm and an unlicensed movement of goats.

A former British champion sheepdog handler denied nine charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals. Gwyn Jones (60) of Penmachno, near Betws-y-Coed, Snowdonia, also pleaded not guilty to two charges of failing to remove a carcass on his land and allowing a ewe to have access to it. The cases relate to five ewes, two rams and two beef cows. On 16/3/05 Magistrates at Llandudno adjourned the hearing until May for a pre-trial review. Jones was three times British supreme champion and in 1988 was seen by millions winning the BBC's One Man and His Dog competition.

Domestic

Keith Cleminson admitted leaving 16 pet rabbits to die in sub-zero temperatures at his former home. RSPCA officers found the starving and dehydrated animals in two outhouses in the garden of the house. Dead and live rabbits were crammed together in filthy cages while several rabbit carcasses were found beneath a bag of animal feed in one outhouse, Carlisle magistrates heard on 8/12/04. There were also dead and starving pigeons, ducks and budgies locked in cages nearby. The animals had been left without food or water for at least a week as temperatures plummeted to below zero, the court heard. Cleminson of High Croft Cottages in Wetheral, Cumbria admitted 16 charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals. Cleminson was jailed for 35 days for a separate matter of non-payment of £1,553.90 council tax. On 4/1/05 Cleminson (47) of Welsh Road, Harraby, Carlisle said he was too busy working to look after the pets properly, he was also warned that he faces three months in jail if he breaches the order. Cleminson must also carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community and pay prosecution costs of £2,271.52. Cleminson admitted 16 offences of causing unnecessary suffering to animals when he appeared before city magistrates on 4/1/5. Cleminson was also banned from keeping animals for life.

When the RSPCA visited the home of Sacha Smith (33) from Kidderminster they found an eight-month-old male whippet which was so emaciated that he could barely stand. The vet who examined the whippet said he had probably been underfed for his entire life. Smith pleaded guilty to causing the dog unnecessary suffering and was banned from keeping dogs for two years, ordered to carry out a one-year community rehabilitation order and pay £200 costs. The dog has since been successfully rehomed.

A Crufts show judge has been banned from keeping dogs for two years after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to four of her former show spaniels. Bexley magistrates heard on 9/1/05 how an RSPCA inspector went to the Kent home of Brenda Parmenter (66) from Belvedere, Kent, following a tip-off. There they discovered four of Parmenter's seven dogs living in filthy conditions in cages stacked in her hallway. One of the dogs had been so badly neglected that it had gone blind in one eye and another had deep, open, infected sores. Two male cocker spaniels and two bitches were severely underweight, were suffering from cuts and infections which were seeping pus, had overgrown nails, and faeces was matted into their hair. Parmenter's son Roy (42) who lives with her at their home, also admitted causing the animals unnecessary suffering. The pair, who have bred dogs for 25 years, were given a disqualification order and the four dogs were handed over to the RSPCA. Mother and son were each fined £100, ordered to pay £50 costs and banned from keeping dogs for two years. The four dogs have made a full recovery and have been successfully rehomed.

A woman starved her pet dog in a case of "pitiful neglect" Southern Derbyshire magistrates heard on 12/01/05. Audyne Hayden (23) of Tower Street, Allenton, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog. Hayden failed to appear at court, but magistrates heard evidence in her absence. The case was adjourned for sentencing until 22/2/05. The good news is that the dog is now being cared for by the RSPCA.

A man and woman who kept 87 pets in filthy conditions and then accused the RSPCA of a set-up were both convicted on 24/1/05 of animal cruelty. Eunice Carlisle and John Mackay tried to blame RSPCA staff of shovelling manure into "pristine" pens to fabricate the evidence against them. During a five-day trial at King's Lynn magistrates Eunice Carlisle (49) and John Mackay (64) both of Rougham Road, Great Massingham, had denied 36 counts of causing unnecessary suffering to animals in their care. Magistrates heard that 53 rabbits were crammed into hutches full of urine-soaked bedding, leaving them with as little as 5in of headroom. Four doves were found in filthy cages encrusted in their own faeces, four goats had overgrown hooves and 26 cats with matted fur were kept in hutches. They were both found guilty on 34 charges. Carlisle was also convicted her of breaching a 12-year ban on keeping animals, which she had denied. The pair were bailed and are due to be sentenced on 16/2/05.

A couple who kept 10 Great Danes in the back of an Austin Maestro van as they searched for somewhere to live have been banned from keeping animals as pets. Marilyn O'Donavan (36) and Brendan Lynch (44) travelled from London to Manchester with the animals crammed into the vehicle. They then spent at least five nights sleeping in the van with the dogs as they looked for accommodation in the city. O'Donavan and Lynch, of Kildare Crescent, Kirkholt, Rochdale, were banned on 31/1/05 from keeping animals as pets for five years and ordered to pay £150 each towards the RSPCA costs. They were convicted of 11 counts of causing unnecessary suffering to animals at the end of a three-day hearing at Bury magistrates. On 4/5/05 O'Donavan lost her appeal against conviction and sentence. A judge and two magistrates at an appeal court sitting in Bury said no reasonable person could have failed to appreciate that the dogs had suffered because of their confinement. O'Donavan is now believed to be living in Surrey, was not at the appeal. Lynch dropped his appeal some time ago.

Sadistic killers who put a pet cat in an oven and roasted it to death had laughed and joked about making "cat stew" and a "cat pie" just minutes before. Darren Anthony Glover (24) of St Helen's Street, Elsecar admitted his part in what prosecutor Judith Naylor described as an "atrocity" at Barnsley magistrates court on 4/2/05 and was jailed for 127 days. David Ronald Anders (17) pleaded not guilty but was convicted after a full day trial and will be sentenced in March.

A former pet shop boss has been told he faces jail after admitting 17 charges of animal cruelty. Damien Lawrence (32) of Warner Street, Haslingden, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering by not providing the animals with proper care and attention. Wigan magistrates were told on 11/2/05 that the offences related to nine puppies, a kitten, a hamster, mice, a rat, a canary and a bearded dragon lizard. The animals were found at Paws and Claws, Jaxon's Court, Wigan. Bodies of dead animals found in the shop had decomposed beyond any recognition which meant that a post mortem examination could not be carried out. Twenty three dead animals were removed from the premises, some of them had cannibalised each other. The case was adjourned for sentencing until 17/3/05 while a pre-sentence report is complied.

A couple who neglected their cats so badly that six had to be put to sleep to end their suffering have been banned from keeping any animal for the rest of their lives. Elizabeth and David Guest of Winward Street, Leigh, appeared before Wigan magistrates on 17/2/05 and admitted causing unnecessary suffering to 17 cats. Both were banned from keeping any animals for the rest of their lives. David Guest was given a 80-hour community punishment order for each offence, to run concurrently, and was ordered to pay £1,050 costs. Elizabeth Guest was given a 100-hour community punishment order for each offence, to run concurrently and an 18-month community rehabilitation order. She was also ordered to pay £1,050 costs.

Andrew Gough (28) of Tiryberth Street, Tiryberth, South Wales who mutilated a greyhound and left it on a mountainside to die had his appeal against his conviction dismissed on 1/3/05. Gough was jailed for six months in December 2004 and banned from keeping animals for life after he shot the five-year-old dog, Charlie. Gough appealed on the grounds that the principal witnesses against him were inconsistent in their accounts of what happened. The court also dismissed an appeal against Gough’s sentence and ban. Gough was also ordered to pay a further £250 costs.

Eric Teasdale (50) of Strand Street, Maryport was banned from keeping dogs for ten years after kicking a puppy so hard he broke its leg. Teasdale was also fined £450 for cruelly treating the 12-week-old Doberman. On 23/3/05 he appeared before West Allerdale magistrates and admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the dog.

A family of four ended up in court after a woman passer-by spotted that their cat was suffering from an absess. Bolton magistrates heard on 6/4/05 how the woman spotted the cat outside the family's home in York Avenue, Little Lever. She took it to a vet after being shocked by the sight of the absess on the side of its body. The family were all accused of failing to provide the cat with the neccessary care after it fell ill. They were fined a total of £325. Stephen Crowther (49) pleaded guilty at a previous hearing and was fined £100 and ordered to pay £400 costs. Lorraine Crowther (51) changed her plea to guilty and was fined £45 and ordered to pay £475 costs. Emma Crowther (18) denied the charge, but was found guilty, fined £85 and told to pay £500 costs. Gareth Crowther (22) also denied the charge and was found guilty. He was fined £95 and ordered to pay £500 costs. The cat was taken in by the RSPCA which has since found the pet a new home.

A dog breeder from Cumbria locked nine puppies in a car which was "as hot as an oven" while he took a summertime daytrip to Jersey, a Weymouth magistrates heard on 14/4/05. John Walsh (54) from Low Row, Brampton, allegedly crammed the puppies in the back of his Vauxhall Astra with no water. He is said to have left them for nine hours in the car park at a ferry port while he travelled to the Channel Islands to deliver six other puppies. Walsh returned to the port later that day but avoided the waiting police by hiding in a van, it was said. The RSPCA began an invest igation and Walsh was arrested at his home four days later. The dogs were removed and taken away by an RSPCA officer. They later made a full recovery. Walsh denies charges of causing unnecessary suffering to nine puppies, abandoning the animals and transporting them in a way likely to cause suf fering. The trial continues.

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