CUMBRIA
PERSONS
CONVICTED 13
TOTAL
CONVICTIONS 20
Investigating officer:
RSPCA Inspector Will Lamping
Defendant:
Male 45, unemployed
Offences:
Animal Welfare Act 2006
s4 and s9; Wildlife and
Countryside Act 1981 s1
Pleas:
Found guilty in absence
Total convictions:
Three
Sentence:
Disqualified from keeping birds
for life; £450 fine; £200 costs.
Prosecuted by:
Scott Duff & Co Solicitors
CumbriaA man who kept a wild sparrowhawk with a broken
wing confined in a makeshift cage was disqualified
from keeping birds for life.
Police first noticed the
sparrowhawk confined in a small
enclosure in the man's garden.
He claimed to have come across
the bird while working in local
woodland, mentioning it would
be worth a lot of money if sold.
He knew the bird had a broken
wing and yet had failed to seek
veterinary attention for it, simply
putting it into an unsuitable cage
and leaving it.
RSPCA Inspector Will Lamping,
on his arrival, could see the
sparrowhawk's left wing was
broken and the bird was stressed
by being kept in captivity. He
took it to a vet for examination,
where the broken bone was seen
protruding through the skin. The
bird's pupils were of different
sizes, indicating it had suffered
some form of head trauma and
many of its feathers, especially the
tail feathers, were damaged and
matted together with dried urine.
The sparrowhawk was
euthanased, on veterinary advice,
due to the extent of its injuries
and to prevent further suffering.
Investigating officer:
RSPCA Inspector Mike Reid
Defendant:
Female 31, housewife
Offences:
Animal Welfare Act 2006 s4
and s9
Pleas:
Found guilty in absence
Total convictions:
Three
Sentence:
Disqualified from keeping
animals for eight years; threeyear
conditional discharge.
Prosecuted by:
Nash & Co Solicitors
CORNWALL
PERSONS
CONVICTED 3
TOTAL
CONVICTIONS 7
CornwallA woman who refused offers of help kept so many
animals she was unable to cope, resulting in the
deaths of several of her pets.
A decomposing rabbit was found
lying in her back garden with an
empty water bottle on top of it,
and a further two rabbits were
found dead in outside pens,
neither of which contained food
or fresh water.
In a small dark shed RSPCA
Inspector Mike Reid found two
emaciated French lop rabbits;
their bodies were skeletal, they
had overgrown claws and were
both sitting on accumulations of
their own faeces, without bedding
or water. Cages stacked above
their hutches contained the
severely decomposed carcasses
of two more rabbits.
Two outside aviaries contained
numerous species of birds. One
hen was found dead and a further
two were emaciated. Five further
bird carcasses were recovered
from the aviary floor.
Two of the surviving rabbits
gained weight in RSPCA care and
have since been rehomed. The
third had to be euthanased on
veterinary advice.
9
www.rspca.org.uk/prosecutions/annualreport