Investigating officer:
RSPCA Inspector
Vicki McDonald
Defendant:
Male 30, unemployed
Offence:
Animal Welfare Act 2006 s4
Plea:
Guilty
Total convictions:
One
Sentence:
Disqualified from keeping
animals for five years;
18 weeks' imprisonment.
Prosecuted by:
Yates Ardern Solicitors
The witnesses, a young female
driver and her passenger, had seen
the injured animal and called the
RSPCA before manoeuvring their
car in front of the cat to protect
him. The woman had pleaded
with the man and his group of
friends to leave the injured cat
alone, but they had become
intimidating towards her; saying
she had "better drive away now".
CCTV footage shows the man
making the sign of a cross on his
body, in the manner of a footballer
taking a penalty, before kicking the
cat forcefully several feet into the
air, twice. Sadly, the cat died from
his injuries at around 5am, minutes
after police arrived at the scene.
The man was arrested.
RSPCA Inspector Vicki McDonald
said: "There was an audible intake
of breath when the footage of
this incident was shown in court."
The chair of the bench said:
"This was a deliberate act of
malicious cruelty to an already
injured and defenceless animal.
We would be failing in our
Investigating officer:
RSPCA Inspector
Edward Halligan
Defendants:
Male 23, shop owner;
male 24, shop manager
Offences:
Animal Welfare Act 2006 s4
Pleas:
Guilty
Total convictions:
16
Sentence:
Both disqualified from
keeping reptiles for five years.
Younger male £500 fine; £1,000
costs. Older male £200 fine;
£200 costs.
Prosecuted by:
Brachers Solicitors
LANCASHIRE
PERSONS
CONVICTED 44
TOTAL
CONVICTIONS 85
KENT
PERSONS
CONVICTED 35
TOTAL
CONVICTIONS 122 LancashireWitnesses watched in horror as a man kicked a
defenceless cat like a football as he lay injured in the
road after being hit by a car.
public duty if we did not pass a
custodial sentence."
KentTwo men responsible for a reptile shop containing
a multitude of suffering animals pleaded guilty to a
variety of animal welfare offences.
The reptiles included a juvenile
yellow-bellied terrapin; a ghost
corn snake; Chinese water dragons
and bearded dragons.
A vet found the housing
conditions for 14 reptiles to
be inadequate. Twenty-four of
the live reptiles were suffering
unnecessarily for a variety of
reasons, including mouth rot
and mite infestation. Young
reptiles were housed with
potential predators.
A volunteer worker recalled there
was, at one time, no food for
the animals for a period of five
weeks. She had bought fruit and
vegetables for them with her own
money. She had contacted nearby
vets for advice herself, as the
men had not made arrangements
for veterinary treatment. On one
occasion, she alerted the manager
to a chameleon whose innards
were protruding and he had said:
"Yeah, I know. Leave her in there
so she's comfortable when she
dies." She had died later that day.
The manager had told the
volunteer that if she found any
dead animals she should bury
them in the back garden.
21
www.rspca.org.uk/prosecutions/annualreport