Vermin Patrol 2005

Vermin Patrol 2005 - Part 2

Badgers

Four men pleaded guilty to ransacking the sett with five terriers and causing the dogs unnecessary suffering. Robert Wenham (23) Edward Murphy (21) Jimmy Eastwood (21) and William Dennard (19) appeared at Sevenoaks magistrates on 25/5/05. Wenham, Murphy and Eastwood all live in Darenth Wood Road, Dartford, while Dennard lives in Mill Road, Dartford. Each was given a 30-month conditional discharge, ordered to pay £500 costs and banned from keeping dogs for five years. Two dogs owned by Murphy are currently in the care of the RSPCA while the other three dogs have been re-homed.

A gang of eight convicted of attempting to take or injure a badger. They were spotted with a pack of 13 dogs, spades and electronic tracking devices on a shallow badger sett near Skipton. At Burnley magistrates on 13/5/05 Craig Jones (30) of Neville Street, Platt Bridge, Wigan; Walter Hankey (38) of McDonald Street, Orrell; David Travis (38) of Winward Street, Leigh; Dennis Buxton (38) of Lune Grove, Leigh; Kim Halliwell (48) of Aylesbury Crescent, Wigan; Lee Standen (24) of Arundel Street, Hindley; Nicholas Lowe (31) of Manor Place, Wigan; and Mark Law (40) of Park Avenue, Barnoldswick, all denied attempting to take or injure a badger. Jones denied a second charge of disturbing a sett by allowing a dog to enter. All eight were found guilty after a five-day trial and warned jail sentences would be considered. The case was adjourned for pre-sentence reports. Sean Parkinson (20) of Gisburn Road and Daniel Clark (21) of St Mary's Avenue, were discharged after the prosecution produced no evidence linking them to an alleged badger dig. On 11/7/05 they were all given three-month prison sentences after they were found guilty of attempting to take badgers. On 22/12/05 they had their convictions quashed by Preston Crown Court. Nicholas Lowe did not contest his conviction because he was already serving a jail sentence for another offence.

On 31/5/05 at Newtownards magistrates Martin David Joseph Titterington (30) from Rathgael Road, Bangor, Co Down pleaded guilty to badger baiting and to disturbing a badger in its set. The charges, of badger baiting and disturbing a badger in its set, follow the incident when a pitbull was filmed savaging a badger to death for sport with the man looking on. Sentencing was adjourned until 27/6/05 when the magistrate will receive a pre-sentence report.

On 6/7/05 Stephen Tucker (50) of Lyndhurst Avenue, Blidworth admitted interfering with a badger sett by putting his pet terrier down one of its holes. Tucker was spotted by police digging at a sett with former gamekeeper Walter Wilkinson (79) of Retford Road, North Wheatley, who initially denied digging for badgers, interfering with the sett and ill treating two terriers. During the trial at Worksop magistrates Tucker admitted damaging the sett and ill treating the dogs as it emerged he had been convicted of similar charges 12 years ago. Tucker told the police and RSPCA inspectors that he loved hunting and 'lived for it'. All charges against Wilkinson were dismissed by the judge on the grounds of his age and ill health!!!!! On 8/8/05 Tucker was ordered to pay £6,000 costs to the RSPCA and to complete 180 hours community punishment. He was also banned from keeping terriers for life.

Bloodsports

A grouse shooting company was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay £6,787 costs after pleading guilty to damaging important heather moorland in the North York Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Faccombe Estates Limited runs grouse shoots on Westerdale Moor in the North York Moors National Park and elsewhere in the north of England. At Northallerton magistrates on 25/4/05 they admitted constructing 620 metres of three metre-wide stone track across the moorland without English Nature’s (EN’s) consent. The track smothered over 1,800 square metres of healthy heather moorland. A restoration order has now been imposed, which means that Faccombe Estates Limited will have to pay to restore the damage to the satisfaction of EN.

On 2/5/05 59 people appeared in court accused of second-degree animal cruelty in connection with cockfighting. Kentucky State Police raided the Spring Brook Farm in Jeffersonville and actually cited more than 500 people.

On 4/5/05 an inquiry by bloodsports organisations has cleared a stag hunt of accusations of animal cruelty. The inquiry into the County Down Staghounds followed the screening of a stag hunt on BBC Northern Ireland. It was carried out by the Northern Ireland Masters Association along with the Hunting Association and the Countryside Alliance of Ireland. The board rejected the suggestion that the film showed the stag was exhausted. The news report showed the hunt in pursuit of a stag across farmland. The footage showed the stag being chased through a garden, fields and hedges. The inquiry also dealt with concerns regarding the welfare of sheep which were seen running in a bid to evade the commotion of the hunt. Concern had also been expressed that such exertion might pose a risk to the welfare of sheep at a time of the year when many flocks are heavily pregnant. However, the inquiry board said it was satisfied the sheep were not harmed in any way. The inquiry, which was also told the landowner had given permission for the hunt to cross the It concluded there was no evidence of the hunt having broken any law or of breaching the hunting code of practice. (Now why does all this not surprise me?)

Two men have been warned they face jail after guns and a dead young deer were found in a pick-up truck in the New Forest. The pair were arrested after being stopped by a police anti-poaching patrol on a country lane. Police found two loaded rifles in the rear of the vehicle and the 12-month-old fallow prickett underneath. A search of the home of David Cailes (33) from Dugdell Close, Ferndown revealed a sawn-off shotgun as well as ammunition. Cailes and Robinson appeared before Southampton Crown Court on 6/5/05 where they admitted firearms offences. Cailes (a vermin controller) admitted unlawfully killing the deer, and possessing a shortened .22 calibre Martini rifle and ten cartridges and a .243 Steyr Mannlicher rifle with ammunition. Ian Robinson (43) of Dudsbury Road, West Parley, pleaded guilty to possessing a .22 calibre Marlin Golden 39-A Mountie lever action rifle and ammunition. Cailes and Robinson were bailed for sentence on13/6/05.

A man who held organised dog fights in an outhouse behind his father's pub has been sent to prison. Ian Draper (41) of Walker's Close, Asthall, was arrested during a nationwide swoop on people involved in what the RSPCA described as the "Premiership" of dog fights. Appearing at Banbury magistrates on 16/5/05 Draper admitted six charges, including causing unnecessary suffering to dogs, keeping a place for dog fighting and owning an illegal breed of dog. Investigators conducting a search of a the New Inn in Minster Lovell, owned by Draper's father at the time, found a blood-stained room in an outbuilding where the fighting took place. The former greyhound breeder and one-time boxer was sentenced to three months in prison, which could be cut in half for good behaviour, and was banned from owning dogs for 10 years. A charge against Draper's father, Martin Draper (67) of Wenrisc Drive, Minster Lovell, was withdrawn.

USA - On 24/5/05 three people were arrested and charged with organised dog fighting and cruelty to animals. Hampton police went to the home near the corner of Walnut Street and Shawen Drive, and saw at least two dogs fighting and another dog standing to the side. Four people were encouraging the dogs, police said. Cynthia Kay Curry (44), Lushawn Beneie Carolina (18) and Kelvino Breon Hunter (18) were charged with organised dog fighting and cruelty to animals. Tracy Arleaene Curry (39) was charged with disturbing the peace. Animal control picked up the three dogs and treated them for their injuries

On 24/5/05 a judge upheld the decision made by Wisbech magistrates in October 2004 that a Subaru Legacy belonging to Patrick Ward (45) of Buckington, Warwickshire be crushed. It was confiscated after he was charged with taking part in illegal hare coursing in Spaldwick, near Huntingdon. As well as having his car crushed, Ward was given a £300 fine and disqualified from driving for six months.

Eight bloodsports supporters were convicted on 26/5/05 of violating the Public Order Act Section 5 after invading the House of Commons during a debate on the Hunting Bill last year. After a four-day trial at Bow Street magistrates, the judge ordered that the men receive an 18-month conditional discharge and pay £350 costs each. Workman told the eight that he was satisfied their conduct was disorderly and that it had caused alarm. However, he said he could find no evidence that their actions had resulted in either harassment or distress. The eight are Otis Ferry (22) of Keeper's Cottage, Eaton Mascott, Shrewsbury. Ferry is also the joint master and huntsman of the South Shropshire Foxhounds. Luke Tomlinson (27) of Down Farm, Westonbirt, Gloucestershire, who is a friend of princes William and Harry. David Redvers (34) of Corsend Farm, Hartpury, Gloucestershire; Richard Wakeham (36) of Alma Terrace, York; Nicholas Wood (41) of Bowden Park, Lacock, Wiltshire; John Holiday (37) of Ledbury Kennels, Bromesberrow, Herefordshire. Holiday is also the huntsman of The Ledbury Foxhounds; Robert Thame (35) of Piper's Cottage, Paley Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire, Thame also hunts with the Bicester and Whaddon Chase Hunt; and Andrew Elliot (42) of Laurel Cottage, Allbright Lane, Bromesberrow, Herefordshire, Elliot rides with the Ledbury Foxhounds. (also see)

Three men charged with poaching just hours after the hunting ban came into effect in February appeared before Chippenham magistrates on 26/5/05. They were not charged under the new legislation that made hunting with hounds illegal but they were found with four dogs, a gun and two dead animals. Timothy Barry (54) of Cork, Ireland with Steven Edwards (32) and Davyn Jones (33) both from Mid Glamorgan pleaded guilty to poaching by night. The gun belonged to Gerard Mabey (33) also from Mid Glamorgan who did not appear in court. He is charged with possessing a firearm and poaching. Magistrates issued a warrant. Jones was found in possession of two lock knives and was charged with having a blade or point in a public place. Jones, Barry and Edwards were ordered to pay £70 costs and an £80 fine. Jones was fined an extra £100 for being in possession of the two lock knives and he was ordered to destroy them.

On 31/5/05 a youth was arrested in connection with an attack on an anti-hunt campaigner at the East Kent Foxhounds. The 16-year-old was arrested on suspicion of actual bodily harm and released on bail, Kent Police said. Officers are still seeking information about the identity of the people who carried out the attack at Crundale, near Ashford. The anti-hunt campaigner was treated in hospital after the assault for multiple bruising and a suspected broken rib.

On the 28/5/05 a suspected illegal dog-fighting club was unearthed when six bull terriers - one dead and the rest malnourished - were found in raids in Sandwell, West Midlands.

On 31/5/05 Patrick Nevin his son Martin Nevin and a 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to trespassing in pursuit of game. At Cambridge magistrates Martin Nevin of Saunton Court, Southall, admitted he trespassed. The 15-year-old admitted he committed the same offence. Patrick Nevin, also of Saunton Court, Southall, pleaded guilty to both incidents of hare coursing when he previously appeared at Cambridge magistrates 13/5/05. He was also convicted at an earlier hearing of a third offence of hare coursing. On 27/6/05 the a judge put an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) on Patrick Nevin after he was persistently caught breaking the law. If Nevin steps foot inside Cambridgeshire with lurcher dogs, or if he trespasses on land in the next three years, he faces being jailed. The court also ordered that two lurchers and a Ford Fiesta Courier van, owned by Nevin are forfeited. He was also handed a suspended six-month driving ban and ordered to pay a £900 fine and £200 court costs.

On 1/6/05 a pair of travellers were each been fined £450 and banned from driving for three months after being caught hare coursing. Patrick Nevin and Martin Nevin both of Saunton Court, Southall, Hemel Hempstead were arrested as they tried to flee police through a hedge with another man, a 12-year-old boy and four lurchers dogs. Both admitted trespass in pursuit of game. Both men were also ordered to each pay £75 court costs.

Police arrested two men in connection with alleged attacks on domestic cats using lurcher-type dogs in Carlisle. The two local men were arrested on 6/6/05 and are now helping Cumbria Police with their inquiries. The arrests follow several reports in the media of pet cats being targeted by gangs of youths with dogs.

Two bloodsports supporters have been cleared of alleged criminal behaviour. Gilles Wheeler (45) who was sentenced to 60 days imprisonment by Bow Street magistrates, has been acquitted on appeal. Wheeler's appeal was heard by Southwark Crown Court on 10/6/05. The former professional huntsman to the Isle of Wight Foxhounds and Fernie Foxhounds was originally sentenced following police testimony relating to events in Parliament Square on 15/9/04, during the demonstration against the Hunting Bill. It was originally alleged that, in throwing a lit flare onto ground on the corner of Canon Row and Bridge Street, Westminster, Wheeler had breached the Public Order act. Despite pleading “not guilty”, he was sentenced on 25/4/05. He was released on bail two days later. Bloodsports supporter and trainee farrier Thomas Haddock has been acquitted of threatening behaviour. Haddock, from Mid Glamorgan, was charged with a public order offence after an incident outside a Labour Party charity dinner in Cardiff on 25/11/04. On 10/6/05 at Cardiff magistrates they found him not guilty.

Wildlife campaigners have expressed outrage after prosecutors dropped 44 charges against a gamekeeper accused of storing poisons capable of killing thousands of people in an unlocked shed. Following plea-bargaining Jock Whellans (68) admitted just four offences at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on 11/6/05 and was fined a total of £190. The alleged offences ranged from the laying of poison baits in the open countryside and the use of an illegal snare. Whellans pleaded guilty to just four offences, with not guilty pleas being accepted on the remaining charges.

James MacDonald (32) from Kirkcaldy, admitted he deliberately hunted a hare with dogs on a field. Not guilty charges were accepted for Shaun Mahon (17) and Samuel McDonald both of Kirkcaldy, by the Crown. Sentence on MacDonald was deferred until 15/6/05 for background reports.

Armed police were called in and the force helicopter scrambled to track down Peter David Jones. He was arrested in the car park of Tesco's supermarket in Mold by officers who seized his air rifle. On 16/6/05 Jones (25) of Bromfield Park, Mold, was fined £100 and ordered to pay £55 court costs after he admitted possessing a loaded weapon in public. Flintshire magistrates at Mold also ordered the BSA Hornet .77 calibre air rifle should be destroyed. Jones admitted owning the air rifle. He was arrested and told police he had been out shooting rabbits. Jones said he was bored and started shooting near the law courts at rabbits.

USA - On 19/6/05 Suffolk police interrupted a cock fight and arrested a Brentwood man on charges of running an operation in his backyard. Miguel Perez (56) of 9 MacArthur Avenue in Brentwood, had a large pen for fighting in his backyard and 18 cocks housed separately to limit their socialisation skills. When officers arrived, they found women, children and 15 men in the backyard. The fighting male roosters were found shaved with spurs on their legs. Although some of the men ran, police arrested Nelson Marmol (52), of Freeport; Jose L. Torres (51), of Bay Shore; Narciso Rodriguez (39) of Baldwin and Nelson Peralta (29) of Brentwood. The men were charged with animal cruelty, a misdemeanor, and given field appearance tickets. Perez was charged with prohibition of animal fighting, a felony, and is being held at the Third Precinct. He is scheduled to be arraigned Sunday in First District Court in Central Islip, Groneman said. The 18 male roosters, including the rooster that died Saturday afternoon, were seized by the Islip Town Animal Shelter.

A man found asleep in his car whilst two and a half times the drink drive limit has been banned from the road for 2 years. Christopher Harrison (55), attended a hunt meet in Cradley, Worcestershire and then drank whisky with friends, Worcester magistrates heard on 19/6/05. Police later found his car protruding into a main road. Hardman was asleep at the wheel with the keys in his lap. Hardman of Pump House, Acton Green, Acton Beachamp who pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol and leaving his car in a dangerous position was banned from driving for two years. He was fined £550 with £43 costs and given three penalty points.

A pellet from a gas-fired airgun went through the head of Alfred Norton while he was out lamping with his uncle and two other men. Two of his uncles were jailed on 28/605. Leeds Crown Court was told that the pellet was still lodged in Alfred's brain as surgeons were unable to remove it because of the high risk. He needed continuous care and would suffer for the rest of his life. The shot was fired accidently by Lee Beauchamp, Alfred's sister's boyfriend. Three brothers, including Gary Norton admitted perverting justice by making false statements and hiding evidence. John Norton(61) of Lumley Mount Bungalows, Castleford, and Stephen Norton (35) of Hollywell Grove, Glass Houghton, were each jailed for 15 months and 12 months respectively. They each admitted a further joint offence of having a firearm as a trespasser. On 4/7/05 Gary Norton (45) of Wellgate, Castleford was given a nine-month sentence suspended for two years for lying to police by telling them a stranger shot his son. On 14/7/05 Lee Beauchamp (19) of Penrith Crescent, Ferry Fryston was given a 12-month conditional discharge and £40 costs by Pontefract magistrates after admitting trespassing on land with an air weapon.

Mal Williams (49) from Wormelow who is the master of the South Herefordshire Hunt was cleared of using threatening behaviour towards police at a bloodsports demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament in September 2004. At Bow Street magistrates on 1/7/05 the court heard how Mal Williams (49) from Wormelow, grabbed a police sergeant’s baton and protective shield. He denied using threatening behaviour. A police officer told the court Williams had grabbed the end of his baton with both hands and tried to pull it away. Williams was arrested after police examined video footage taken during the demonstration. Although the District Judge dismissed the charge Williams was bound over for £250 for 18 months.

Randolph Clayton (27) of the 21000 block of San Filippo Road, Bridgeville, Delaware was sentenced on 16/7/05 to three years in prison after being involved in a dogfighting incident while he was on probation. The incident sadly resulted in the death of a pit bull. Clayton appeared in Sussex County Superior Court to face two counts each of animal cruelty and dogfighting and he was sentenced to three years in jail for violating his probation. As part of a plea agreement, he was convicted of one count of possessing a dog for dogfighting purposes, and given 18 months probation following his three-year jail sentence. The other three charges were dropped. The court suspended a $5,000 fine but Clayton was ordered to pay SPCA officials $543 in restitution. He was also banned from keeping a dog for 15 years.

Naomi Tamzin Barrett (41) of Tythebarn, Branscombe, near Seaton, appeared in court charged with stealing money from a hunt supporters' club while she was its treasurer. Barrett faced four charges of theft, one of forgery and one of false accounting when she appeared at Exeter Crown Court on 18/7/05. It is alleged she stole £2,100 from the Axe Valley Hunt Supporters' Club and £372 from the East Devon Hunt Pony Club. Barrett is also accused of forgery by making a false bank statement with the intention of inducing members of the club to accept it as genuine, and false accounting by falsifying cheques. The case was adjourned until 5/8/05.

A Yorkshire hunt member allegedly involved in an attempt to halt a steam train while demonstrating against the Government's ban on hunting is due to appear in court soon. Ivan Richard Holmes (52) of Tylas Farm, Old Byland, in North Yorkshire, has been charged in connection with the protest near Pickering. He is due to appear before Scarborough magistrates on 18/7/05 to face a charge of using threatening behaviour likely to cause alarm or distress. Holmes, a Glaisdale Hunt supporter, faces a further charge of obstructing or disrupting a person engaged in lawful activity. The train was being run by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway between Whitby and Pickering when it was allegedly targeted. Three others were questioned in connection with the incident but charges have only been brought against Holmes.

William Smith (39) of Ribblers Lane, Kirkby was convicted of allowing illegal dog-fighting bouts at his secluded home, despite claiming to be a dog lover. Huyton magsitrates heard on 26/7/05 that searches of the property revealed blood-spattered sticks used to prise animals apart, fitness schedules, a treadmill and weighing scales and boards used to construct fighting pits. Smith also had three heavily-scarred illegal pit bull terriers at the property, which were taken away and put down. The court also heard that boards used to construct a pit for fighting had blood on them that was linked through DNA tests to an Oxfordshire dog whose owner Ian Draper had been convicted for dog fighting. Smith denied allowing illegal dog-fighting and denied that his home was known in fighting circles as "Lion Heart Kennels". Smith was sentenced to four months.

A Devon man has admitted the manslaughter of his 13-year-old stepson while he was out lamping. Byron Evans (13) was shot while out lamping with his stepfather Philip Rowe (50) of Stafford Lane, Colyford. Rowe pleaded guilty at Exeter Crown Court on 26/7/05 to manslaughter by gross negligence. Rowe's sentencing was adjourned until 2/9/05.

Troy Jordan (35) of Blackthorn Cottage, River Road Allenwood was jailed for 18 months at Naas Circuit Court on 4/8/05 on Cruelty to Animal charges for attending a dog fight. The court heard that Jordan had previously been found guilty at Naas District Court of animal cruelty to six pitbull terriers in 2000 where he was fined €6,475 and banned from owning a dog for three years. Four other defendants received suspended sentences on condition they sign a bond to be of good behaviour. Thomas Codd (39) 18 Cloonmore Crescent, Tallaght, who has been on disability benefit for 16 years, was given a nine-month suspended sentence on condition he pay €500 to the ISPCA. Karl Breen (25) 5 Nangor Crescent, Clondalkin, was given a nine-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay €5,000 to the ISPCA., Richard Somerville (34) 26 Dunard Drive, Navan Rodd, Cabra, was handed an 18 month suspended sentence on condition he pay €3,000 to the animal rescue charity. David Deegan (22) from Co. Offaly was also ordered to hand over €3,000 to the ISPCA and received an 18 month suspended sentence. There were originally 11 co-defendants in the case but six were acquitted.

On 9/8/05 retired New Forest Huntsman Paul Woodhouse was been charged with threatening behaviour against an New Forest Animal Protection Group (NFAPG) anti-hunt observer and will appear at Lyndhurst magistrates on 30/8/05. Woodhouse had to be restrained by his own colleagues after allegedly using threatening behaviour towards the observer during the last official day of legal hunting in the New Forest.

A bloodsports supporter who was arrested during the Parliament Square demonstrations has been acquitted. Lee Peters, master and huntsman of the Camarthen Hunt, appeared at Bow Street magistrates on 15/8/05, charged under Section 4 of the Public Order Act. The lay magistrate dismissed the case, saying there was not enough evidence to support the charges. “He said that in the politically charged atmosphere of the day, V-signs and clenched fists raised to the police does not count as threatening behaviour,”

On 18/8/05 six dogs were seized and a man arrested and bailed following the undercover operation at a disused industrial premises in the Preston. The man, in his 20s, was questioned after a joint operation with RSPCA inspectors. Three homes were also searched as well as the industrial site, believed to have been used as a base by the dogfighting club. Items associated with dog fighting were seized as part of the series of raids, including what is believed to be a pit in which dogs fight. The arrested man was released on police bail until 18/10/05.

Steven Booth (30) of Provost Rust Drive, Michael Sim (22) of Moir Drive, Colin Stewart (21) of Cummings Park Drive, and Donald Stewart (35) of Strachan Place, all from Aberdeen were all arrested by police as they returned to the van after illegally hunting hares with lurchers. Kevin Leslie (23) of Fowler Avenue, Aberdeen was found hiding in woodland. All admitted the crime at Stonehaven Sheriff Court on 19/8/05. The Sheriff Forbes and deferred the case, including the requested forfeiture matters, for reports.

Douglas Hill (62) who is the joint master of the Essex and Farmers Union Hunthas been charged with a string of offences – including the assault of a police officer – after trouble flared at a hunt meet. Hill of Church Road in West Hanningfield also faces two further charges of assault, a charge of criminal damage and two public order offences. He is due to appear at Chelmsford magistrates on 25/8/05.

Another Crawley and Horsham Foxhounds supporter has signed a police caution admitting assault, following the theft of keys from an anti hunt campaigners minibus on 28/11/04 at Spear Hill near Shipley.

Thomasville, USA - On 30/8/05 Dexter Lamar Young (29) of 506 Park Ave was charged with aggravated animal cruelty in dog-fighting activity. Young also is charged with no rabies tag. Thirteen of the 25 dogs found at the H. Sherrod Road fight site are owned by Young. The animal cruelty charge on Young involves a pit bull that was disfigured in dog fights. Other dogs seized had old scars. Richardo Shuntrell Mitchell (25) 1104 Isobel St., and Larry Love Hansell (55) 317 Allen St., also surrendered in the case. Mitchell and Hansell are charged with no rabies tag. Animal control officers found a dog-fighting ring near woods in the back yard of a residence. They also found dogs chained to trees.

Eggs/Birds

At Norwich magistrates on 23/3/05 Daniel Lingham of Newton Van Park, Fairholme Road, Newton St Faiths, Norwich pleaded guilty to seven charges under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 was sentenced to 10 weeks’ imprisonment. When the police raided his mobile home they found 3,603 birds eggs hidden in secret compartments. In the collection, the RSPB found 200 Schedule 1 eggs including 24 little tern eggs, as well as 89 nightjar and 166 nightingale eggs. When interviewed, he confessed to having taken a large number of the eggs in the collection over the previous 30 years.

Mario Culora (37) of Cattlegate Road, Potters Bar pleaded guilty to catching as many as 20 wild birds with a view to selling. Culora admitted possessing 20 goldfinches which he had caught from parks in the area using decoy traps, nets and bird tether. Police found the birds and the equipment at his after several people reported seeing him enticing the birds. At St Albans Crown Court on 7/6/05 Culora was ordered to pay £1,000 costs and carry out 120 hours' community service.

Equine

John Brian Askew (69) of Bacup, Lancashire, admitted 11 counts of causing unnecessary suffering to horses. The offences were uncovered during a check of a farm in the Stacksteads area of Bacup by the RSPCA. Askew pleaded guilty to the charges at a hearing in Burnley magistrates on 18/4/05. He admitted he failed to provide adequate, food, care and veterinary attention to several horses in his care. On 19/8/05 Askew was sentenced to a five month custodial sentence and a life time ban on keeping animals.

A horse trader has been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling nearly £7,000 for trying to sell an injured animal at Henley Horse Market. In an RSPCA prosecution at Nuneaton magistrates on 2/6/05 Laurence McAllister who travelled from his home in Ireland, pleaded guilty to exposing a horse unfit for sale. He was fined £2,700 and ordered to pay costs of £4,125.

On 9/8/05 a Worcestershire woman has been banned from owning horses for 10 years. Kelly Marie Anslow pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to her piebald cob pony by failing to provide veterinary care and an adequate diet. Anslow was also ordered to pay £1,000 towards the RSPCA's costs and to complete an 80-hour community punishment order.

A horse's leg was left ripped open and bleeding for more than a week after it had been put into a muddy field littered with lethal hazards. Wire, jagged-edged tin baths and broken fences were all found in the Old Stobswood Brickworks field, by the RSPCA. heard. At Bedlington magistrates on 30/8/05 Ronald Tote (77) of Stockwell Green, Walker, Newcastle, denied a charge of cruelty by neglect but was found guilty in his absence. He is due to be sentenced on 26/9/05.

Assorted

A director of an abattoir who allowed hundreds of chickens to suffer and die in crates whilst waiting to be processed has been ordered to pay £1,500. The abattoir, Yorkshire Poultry Products Ltd, was sent to the crown court to be sentenced after Bradford magistrates were told on 12/5/05 it had a string of previous convictions for breaching animal welfare regulations. The court was told that when a vet visited the firm on Hammerton Street, Bradford he noticed many birds in the holding area were suffering from heat stress. When he investigated further he found 797 of the chickens, which had been in the holding area for seven hours, had died. Both Yorkshire Poultry and director Ghulam Mujitba (39) of Altar Drive, Bradford, pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching animal welfare regulations. Mujitba was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £500 in costs. The court was also told that in April 2004, the company had been fined £11,500 and ordered to pay £3,951 costs by a judge at the city's crown court after pleading guilty to ten breaches of food hygiene and animal welfare regulations. In that case, the court heard how more than 2,000 chickens had died from heat exhaustion while waiting to be killed at a Bradford slaughterhouse. Mujitba pleaded guilty on behalf of Yorkshire Poultry to a further ten charges of failing to comply with improvement notices issued by an official vet responsible for the company. The case was sent to the crown court for sentencing in June.

A butcher who carried out ritual Halal killings at an illegal abattoir was jailed for two months for causing suffering to animals. And a father and son farming team who ran the operation from their holding at Upper Austby Farm, Langbar, near Ilkley, were jailed for three months. was paid £10 a time petrol money to travel to the farm in the Yorkshire Dales At Harrogate magistrates on 12/5/05 the court heard how Harold Gray (62) and his son Michael (31) had been arrested with Sumaullah Patel (41) of Bolton following a raid led by armed police in July 2003. Patel pleaded guilty to three charges of causing avoidable suffering to sheep. Harold Gray and his son each admitted aiding and abetting the three offences and admitted three of causing unnecessary suffering to sheep. The Grays also admitted three contraventions of post-BSE regulations and were also found guilty of running an unlicensed slaughterhouse.

A man who kept a dangerous alligator in his 15th storey Edinburgh flat was ordered to pay a reduced fine after a sheriff heard he had been constantly ridiculed for his stupidity. Sheriff Kenneth MacIver heard that Anthony Quinn (35) of Kirkgate House, Constitution Street, Leith, Edinburgh had been humiliated by a stream of taunts and abuse after his story first appeared in the press. On 12/5/05 Quinn was fined a reduced amount of £200. Quinn bought the four-foot alligator over the internet for £250 and kept it in his bath. He fed the hungry female on brown trout and frozen mice from a pet shop. Quinn pleaded guilty to keeping a wild animal without a licence, causing it unnecessary suffering and endangering others.

A pet-shop owner from Bulwell who gave lectures in schools on keeping reptiles has been banned from looking after them for the rest of his life. Frederick Roberts (62) of Hempshill Hall, pleaded guilty at Nottingham magistrates on 13/5/05 to six counts of cruelty to animals after originally facing 33 offences. Roberts admitted to three charges of causing unnecessary suffering to reptiles and to three of keeping birds in cages too small after the RSPCA searched his pet shop The Fish Specialist, in Mansfield Road, Nottingham. Magistrates banned him from keeping reptiles for life and fined him £450.

RENO, Nevarda. A seven-month federal investigation has concluded that a state university mistreated research animals, and the school has agreed to pay an $11,400 fine to settle the case. The U.S. Department of Agriculture cited the University of Nevada, Reno, for 46 federal animal welfare violations. Violations included repeatedly leaving 10 research pigs with inadequate water and housing, poor sanitation at animal care facilities, lack of veterinary care, and failure to investigate complaints of animal neglect. School officials agreed to pay the fine on 27/5/05. The investigation began shortly after an associate professor who is an internationally known animal nutrition researcher, alleged abuse of research animals in complaints to the USDA. The Reno Gazette-Journal later reported that 38 pregnant sheep died in October 2002 while they were inside a locked gate without food or water for three days. Hussein has filed two lawsuits in federal court against the university and other administrators accusing them of eprisals and trying to fire him since he complained. Both lawsuits are pending.

On 16/6/05 Pets at Home Ltd in Beckton, part of a national chain, was successfully prosecuted by Newham Council for breaching the conditions of its licence. The shop, in Gateway Retail Park, Clapsgate Lane pleaded guilty to nine breaches of its licence conditions. In return for its guilty plea, Newham Council withdrew two charges. The company was fined £1,000, with £703 in costs.

Spartanburg, South Carolina - Cory Williamson's from Campobello is accused of raping one neighbor's dog and another neighbor's two little girls. Now the dog has died and charges against the teen have been upgraded. Williamson's is due in court on 16/6/05.

A slaughterman seen in shocking scenes of animal cruelty in a documentary about an abattoir has been sacked. Slaughterhouse: The Task of Blood, screened on BBC2 showed in graphic detail the process of meat production at family-run abattoir Harvey Ashworth in Oldham. Viewers saw slaughterman Arran Parkinson (29) of Oldham, kicking a sheep and gloating over dead animals as well as scenes of livestock being killed and turned into meat. Parkinson was sacked on 5/7/05. Abattoir boss Gilbert Ashworth said "I sacked Arran on animal welfare grounds and I told him that it's taken my family 60 years to build the business, but with the disrespect he's shown the animals we could be destroyed in ten minutes."

Paul Brian Pugh of Third Avenue, Low Hill, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to twisting off the head of the Senegal parrot, during an argument with his wife. On 18/7/05 he was sentenced to serve four months for causing unnecessary suffering to the bird and a further six weeks of a previous sentence from which he was released on licence he was also banned from keeping any animal for the rest of his life. Pugh was remanded in custody after arriving at Wolverhampton magistrates drunk. He struggled with security guards as he was taken to the cells to sober up for the hearing.

A circus workers was given an 18 months suspended prison sentence at Waterford Circuit Court on 23/7/05 for attempting to commit buggery with a mentally impaired male person. Keith Daly (25) of 34 Cornamaddy Athlone Co.Westmeath, pleaded guilty to the offence when the American Circus was in Waterford.

Luis Monteiro (34) of St Machar Court, Aberdeen, jumped on a sleeping swan and throttled it because he thought it was a goose and wanted to eat it, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard on 1/8/05. Monteiro admitted intentionally killing the bird and was sentenced to six months’ probation and 60 hours of community service.

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

At Haverfordwest magistrates on 11/5/05 Nigel David Eames Hooper (32) and his partner Karen Wordley both of Prout's Park Farm, East Williamston entered guilty pleas on eight counts of cruelty to animals and three counts of failing to dispose of animal by-products. Magistrates passed a four-month custodial sentence on the Hooper. The pair were also disqualified from having custody or care of farm animals for five years. Wordley was spared a custodial sentence, receiving a two-year conditional discharge and a £750 fine.

On 8/6/05 Minehead magistrates were told how Richard Jenkins (50) of Hill View, Winsford, near Minehead starved four cows he was keeping on a plot of land in Exton in Somerset even though he was repeatedly warned about his behaviour by animal welfare experts. Jenkins was found guilty of four offences of failing to feed four cattle. The case has been adjourned until 24/6/05 for sentencing.

A former chairman of Devon National Farmers' Union was given a two-month prison sentence by Plymouth magistrates on 15/7/05 after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to a flock of sheep. The court heard that the case against John Dawe (56) of Merton Villas, Bere Ferrers, near Yelverton, was one of the most serious the RSPCA had dealt with in a long time. A vet and an RSPCA inspector who visited Dawe's land at Wastor near Lydford found nine 'rotting' dead sheep. One had died after being caught by its head in wire. Twenty-seven sheep had foot rot and were walking around on 'raw bone and nerves'. Another three had sheep scab which, he said, led to sheep lacking a sufficient covering of wool. Dawe admitted failing to treat his sick animals and to comply with regulations and bury carcasses. He was also given a lifetime ban on keeping sheep. On 12/8/05 a judge at Plymouth Crown Court quashed the sentence handed down by magistrates, but ordered him to pay fines totalling £3,000.

On 2/8/05 a farmer from north Bucks was fined £1050 and ordered to pay £450 towards costs for causing unnecessary suffering to seven sheep in his care. Michael Dickens of Parkhill Farm, Little Horwood near Milton Keynes pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals under the Protection of Animals Act (1911).

A farmer was fined £4,000 and disqualified from keeping sheep for two years for a range of offences including causing unnecessary suffering to animals. Christopher Bustance, from Weston, near Spalding, was also ordered to make a contribution towards prosecution costs of £12,000 when he appeared at Sleaford magistrates on 3/8/05. Bustance originally pleaded not guilty to most of the charges relating to the dead and dying sheep and lambs found in his fields. He said they died from disease, but changed his plea to guilty after hearing evidence from prosecution and trading standards officers, the veterinary officer and a sheep husbandry expert, who said the sheep had not received adequate care and attention, and had been caused unnecessary suffering and many had died unnecessarily. Guilty pleas were also entered by Bustance to two charges relating to two separate instances of sheep arriving at a local slaughterhouse with ingrowing horns which had caused injury to their head and eyes.

A pig farmer from North Norfolk will face a magistrates court hearing after denying a string of charges of cruelty to pigs. Brian Hagan, of Hall Street, Briston, near Holt, is accused by the RSPCA of causing unnecessary suffering to three sows and a weaner pig. It is also alleged that he failed to comply with welfare codes for the keeping of pigs on the same piece of land. He is also charged with failing to give pigs a wholesome diet or adequate water, and failing to care for sick pigs without delay. Hagan entered not guilty pleas via his solicitor at King Lynn magistrates on 12/8/05. The case was adjourned for a pre-trial review until 7/10/05.

John Clarke White and Samuel John White of Crewe Road, Maghera, Co Londonderry were sentenced at Magherafelt magistrates on 16/8/05. They were convicted in their absence of 15 charges each, under animal welfare and animal by-products legislation. They were each fined a total of £1,500 and banned from keeping animals for twelve months. John Clarke White was ordered to pay £112 costs and Samuel John White £109 costs.

Domestic

Peter Grant of Stretham Road, Wilburton was given a community punishment order of 100 hours for setting fire to a rabbit which he dunked in bleach and bludgeoned to death with a beer bottle. On 27/4/05 Ely magistrates sentenced Grant to 100 hours community service and ordered him to pay costs of £300 and banned him from owning any animal for five years. He previously admitted cruelty charges.

Keith Williams (61) of Lôn Groes in Flint, whose cruelty left a kitten to die infested with maggots failed to have a five-year ban on keeping animals lifted. Williams told a court he had been heartbroken since his beloved cats were taken away. But on 5/5/05 Flintshire magistrates dismissed his application to have the ban raised three years early. In January 2004, Williams had admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a black and white kitten which was weak, thin, and literally covered in thousands of maggots. It was locked in a shed, was suffering from diarrhoea and had sores on his hind-quarters. The kitten received extensive treatment from a vet but later died. At the time of the offence, Williams was fined £250 and ordered to pay £286 costs to the RSPCA. He was also banned from keeping any animals for five years. An appeal against the ban to the crown court was rejected, and he was given 28 days to get rid of his seven other cats.

A pet shop boss has been banned from owning reptiles after the RSPCA found he was keeping diseased animals in cramped, dirty, smelly conditions. Frederick Roberts (62) of Hempshill Hall, Bulwell who also ran a schools animal roadshow, originally faced 33 charges after reptiles were taken from his shop The Fish Specialists, in Mansfield Road, Woodthorpe. Roberts pleaded guilty before Nottingham magistrates on 7/5/05 to three charges of animal neglect and three of keeping birds in inadequate cages. Two Asian water dragons he had kept for 20 years both had abscesses, the court heard, and one had a severe jaw infection, one later died of blood poisoning. Inspectors also found a grey parrot, an orange-winged parrot and a grey cockatiel in cramped cages. Roberts was found guilty in 2001 of running a pet shop without a licence and, in 2003, of taking a wild animal into a primary school. Roberts was also fined £450.

On 7/5/05 a Lancashire pet shop owner was jailed for four weeks and banned from keeping any animal for 10 years after he admitted 11 counts of causing unnecessary suffering to animals in his shop. Damien Lawrence, owner of Paws n Claws pet shop in Jaxon's Court, Wigan pleaded guilty to being cruel to nine puppies, a kitten and a bearded dragon. When the RSPCA and the police visited the shop they discovered dozens of dead and dying animals. The dead animals were a kitten, rabbits, rodents and fish, and the live animals consisted of a bearded dragon, a kitten and nine desperate puppies, two of which were in such poor condition that they were immediately rushed to a vet. There was no food or water in the animals' cages and some had resorted to cannibalism in an effort to stay alive. The live animals were taken into RSPCA care and have since recovered and been successfully rehomed. On appeal, Lawrence's original sentence of three months' imprisonment and a life ban was reduced to four weeks' imprisonment and a 10-year ban.

A former greyhound trainer faces being banned from keeping animals after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to two dogs. David Cox (68), failed to get treatment for the two greyhounds despite both suffering from serious medical problems. Both animals were put down after an RSPCA inspector discovered them living in squalid conditions at Cox’s home in Middle Street, Yeovil. Yeovil magistrates heard on 16/5/05 that Cox had neglected the dogs and that the National Greyhound Racing Club had withdrawn Cox’s training licence in 1997 because of the unsatisfactory condition of his premises. Sentence was adjourned until 13/6/05 for reports and Cox was granted unconditional bail.

A woman who worked as a carer lived in a house of grime which contained the skeletal remains of animals and birds. Hazel Marian Jones (55) from Llys Nercwys, Mold also kept a neglected dog and a cat in cages. On 20/5/05 Jones admitted two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog and the cat. Sentence was adjourned for reports at Flintshire magistrates. The sad news is that the dog is still alive but it cannot be rehoused because of behavioural problems. It has been completely de-socialised. Both cats had incurable conditions and had to be put down.

A man whose dog was left to starve, forcing it to drink fat from a chip pan fryer, was jailed for three months for cruelty to the animal. Julian Skey (43) of Flore Close, Westwood, Peterborough, gave his two-year-old female German shepherd so little food that its weight shrank to just about half the weight it should have been. Instead of leaving a bowl of dog food for the dog, Skey used to leave a deep-fat fryer on the floor from which the dog drank the fat. Skey was sentenced at Peterborough magistrates on 20/5/05 to three months in prison, after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary cruelty to an animal. He was also disqualified from owning animals for 10 years.

A woman who kept 271 animals in appalling conditions at her Lancashire home has admitted nine cruelty charges. Rosalind Gregson (55) of Lindeth Road, Silverdale, had denied a total of 49 charges of failing to provide the animals with necessary care and attention. The trial was halted after she changed her plea to guilty at Preston magistrates on 20/5/05. The nine charges referred to cruelty to nine dogs - two Yorkshire terriers, three lhasa apsos, three shih tzu and one old English sheepdog. Five of the animals had been so mistreated that they had to be put down. The RSPCA has applied for costs totalling £139,749.22. On 10/6/05 Gregson was jailed for three months and was disqualified from keeping animals for life. on 17/6/05 Gregson was released one week into a three-month prison term following an appeal hearing at Preston Crown Court. She was given a three-year community rehabilitation order, but was told that the life ban on keeping animals would still stand.

A man who threw his girlfriend's dog off a balcony in a fit of rage after it urinated on his carpet has been banned from keeping animals for three years. Daniel Harradine (21) of High Street, Milton, Cambridge was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service by Ely magistrates on 31/5/05 after he pleaded guilty to the callous attack. The Staffordshire bull terrier broke his leg in two places when he plunged to the ground outside Harradine's. Harradine is no longer permitted to own or have custody of any animal for three years.

Cub Scout leader Bridget Cole (22) of Debden Green, Ely was found guilty of putting a rabbit in a bucket of bleach and water, and hitting it with a metal pole. Ely magistrates heard on 4/6/05 how Cole laughed as she the rabbit to a "horrifying" attack. They found Cole guilty of causing the animal distress by chasing him around the living room at a party. Co-defendant Peter Grant (19) of Stretham Road, Wilburton, had previously been sentenced to 100 hours of community service for setting fire to Lucky and clubbing him to death. The case was adjourned to 28/6/05 for pre-sentence reports and Cole was granted unconditional bail.

Connie Quilligan (32), Patrick Quilligan (36) both of Cannon Breen, Thomondgate, Limerick, Ireland and Jonathan Mulqueen (19) of Bishop Murphy Park, Parteen in County Clare, Ireland pleaded guilty to selling puppies at Appleby Horse Fair at Eden magistrates in Penrith on 6/6/05. They were each fined £200 with £58 costs.

A family caused unnecessary suffering to their 16-year-old pet because they couldn't afford vets' bills. The cross collie had an open cancerous leg lesion, his coat was matted and he also suffered skin conditions. He was humanely destroyed by a vet, Merthyr Tydfil magistrates heard on 10/6/05. Merylyn Davies (59) husband Arfon (63) and their son Andrew (32) all from Jenkin Street, Abercwmboi, Aberdare admitted a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and were fined £50 each and their son £100, ordered them each to pay £150 costs and banned them from keeping animals for five years.

Madeleine MacDonald of London Road, Chalfont St Giles was ordered to pay £20,000 and given a ten-year ban from keeping any pets except for tropical fish and one cat at any one time. MacDonald was fined £10,000 for four of the 21 unnecessary suffering charges and ordered to pay £10,000 costs at Wycombe magistrates on 15/6/05. A total of 30 dogs, cats, birds and snakes were removed from her former house. Among the charges to which MacDonald pleaded guilty was causing unnecessary suffering to different breeds of dog including Dobermans, Great Danes, German Shepherds and a Newfoundland along with seven sphynx cats.

A mother and son from Manchester have been banned from keeping animals for 10 years after they admitted causing unnecessary suffering to their the dog which was chained to a toilet at their home. James Howie (40), and his mother Agnes (74) from the Wythenshawe area were also given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 costs each.

Owners of a Maryport cat rescue have been banned from keeping cats for 10 years after kittens were found dead and dying in squalid conditions during a raid. Sisters Claire and Lynda Snowden Snowden (55) of Wood Street, who run Cumbria Cat Rescue centre on Crosby Street, were found guilty of five charges of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. At Keswick and West Allerdale magistrates on 23/07/05 they were both found guilty on five counts of cruelty and not guilty on one other. They were fined £300 each and ordered they be banned from keeping cats for 10 years.

Bridget Cole (22) of Debden Green, Ely dunked a rabbit in a bucket of bleach and battered it with a metal pole was handed a two-month suspended prison sentence and a 25-year ban from owning any animal by Ely magistrates on 28/7/05. Cole had pleaded not guilty to the animal cruelty charge was criticised for showing no remorse during the trial. She was also ordered to pay £1,500 towards court costs. Peter Grant (19) of Stretham Road, Wilburton, had previously been sentenced to 100 hours of community service for setting fire to the rabbit and bludgeoning him to death with a metal pole.

Douglas Morrison (41) of Union Street, Aberdeen was given 80 hours community service and banned from owning a dog for three years after he choked his Jack Russell to death. Morrison said he did not know what he was doing as he was high on a cocktail of drink and drugs. On 3/8/05 Morrison admitted ill-treating the dog and causing unnecessary suffering by suspending his pet by the lead around its neck until it died.

On 4/8/05 retired vet Elizabeth Rogers (71) of Euximoor Drove, Christchurch admitted charges of animal cruelty, after eight of her poodles were found stuffed into cages that were far too small them. She also failed to provide veterinary treatment for several of the dogs. Rogers' home in discovered an overpowering smell of urine, and the floor of the room that housed the cages was covered in faeces. Rogers admitted 22 charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals when she appeared before Fenland magistrates. At Wisbech magistrates on 25/8/05 she was banned from keeping dogs for the next 10 years.

A mother and daughter have been banned from keeping animals for five and three years respectively after neglecting two family pets. Susan James of Kingsfield Way, Astley pleaded guilty at Wigan magistrates on 12/8/05 to three charges of animal cruelty relating to a six-year-old collie dog and a one-year-old cat. The daughter Rebecca James (45) of Lynton Road, Astley, also pleaded guilty to two similar charges while her brother Christopher James (20) of no fixed abode, faced two charges and was found guilty in his absence. He failed to attend court and must return on 1/9/05 to hear his fate. Magistrates ordered Susan James to serve 160 hours community service, banned her from keeping animals for five years and ordered her to pay £250 in costs. Rebecca James must serve 100 hours community service, was banned from keeping animals for three years and must also pay £250 in costs. Both animals have since been re-homed by the RSPCA.

A Rottweiler had chains tied around her muzzle and front and back legs. She lay in a bedroom, unable to move, eat or drink. Serena Lloyd (20) from Malvern in Worcestershire said she chained the dog to stop her scratching and irritating her flea allergy. An RSPCA inspector discovered the dog trussed up and lying on a bed in Lloyd's house. Lloyd was banned from owning any animal for five years, given a 60-hour community punishment order, and ordered to pay costs of £1,250. Jess was rehomed by the RSPCA.

A pre-school assistant and her mother who battered a kitten to death to avoid paying vet fees have been spared jail sentences. Emma Cherrett (25) of Orchard Close, Colden Common, Winchester accidentally injured a black six-week-old male kitten, as she closed the door on the cat. The kitten was hurt, but not killed. But instead of taking it to the vet, her mother, Patricia Smith (47) of Crowders Green, Colden Common, Winchester crushed the kitten's skull with three to four blows from a piece of wood. The kitten's original injuries were easily treatable and it would have survived if the pair had gone to a vet. At Andover magistrates both were found guilty of cruelly ill-treating a cat. The pair were sentenced at Basingstoke magistrates on 25/8/05 to 200 hours community punishment orders each to be completed in one year. They were also ordered to pay £750 each towards the RSPCA's costs.

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