Tag Archives: drowning

Cats, Lifers, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Heywood, Greater Manchester: Robert Lay

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CONVICTED (2024) | Robert Lay, born c. 1991, from Heywood, Rochdale – killed a cat in a washing machine.

Cat killer Robert Lay from Heywood, Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

Lay put the cat, called Buddy, into the washing machine then switched it onto a wash cycle. He then dumped the animal’s horrifically injured body behind a bush in a cemetery.

In court Lay pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal on or around February 11, 2023, at an address in the Queensbury area of Bradford.

Phillip Brown, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said the facts show an individual had committed a “sadistic act of cruelty”.

In a statement, the RSPCA said they were alerted to Buddy’s killing after Lay admitted to it in a Facebook chat group.

Messages showed Lay had said he had committed the act because the cat had scratched him and his girlfriend at the time had told him to do so or else she would end their relationship.

After the cat’s body was discovered, he was taken to a vet who was able to find the owner through the cat’s microchip.

The RSPCA said: “The court heard that a post mortem examination showed Buddy had a number of injuries, including fractures, bruising and skin lacerations consistent with being placed in a washing machine on a high heat.”

An expert vet’s witness statement, presented to the court, said Buddy had attempted to grip onto the drum with his claws as it was going around on a program ‘likely of high heat’ in the washing machine.

It said: “The cat would have experienced suffering via mechanisms of fear, distress and pain for a period of at least several minutes, possibly longer.

The court was told Lay had associated with a group while living in alternative accommodation to where he is now.

In mitigation, Lay’s lawyer claimed the group took advantage of his client’s significant disabilities.

Speaking after a sentencing hearing, RSPCA Inspector Natalie Taylor, who investigated the case, said: “This was a deeply distressing case involving intentional harm and cruelty to a defenceless cat. It is heart-breaking to think about the pain and suffering Buddy endured.

“We are grateful to the people who worked with us on getting this case to court.”

Sentencing | 14-week custodial suspended for 12 months; 30 days of rehabilitation activity; ordered to pay a total of £550. Banned from keeping any animal as a pet for life.

Manchester Evening News
Telegraph & Argus

Dogs, Lifers, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Arthur’s Hill, Newcastle upon Tyne: Stephen Peveller

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CONVICTED (2023) | Stephen Peveller, born c. 1975, of Longley Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5EE – callously killed his elderly pet dog by pushing her into an icy river.

Sadistic dog killer Stephen Peveller from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Image: Northumbria Police

In hideous scenes captured on CCTV, Peveller cruelly threw the unnamed 12-year-old Pomeranian against railings next to the River Wear, in Sunderland, leaving her injured and struggling to get up after banging her head. As she looked to her master for help, he instead put her through the railings and pushed her over the edge of the river to her death.

Peverell was jailed at Newcastle Crown Court for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal whom he had claimed he needed for emotional support.

At around 7.40am on December 17, 2022, Peveller was observed by a Sunderland Council worker in icy conditions at Panns Bank, Sunderland, next to the River Wear.

Penny Hall, prosecuting, said: “The defendant can be seen being abusive to a small dog.

“He dragged it by the neck before throwing it towards some railings alongside a path by the River Wear. There are railings then a drop into the river beyond it.

“The dog hit the railings and fell on its back. It moves, frantically trying to get back up. The defendant tried to put it on its legs, which it eventually managed to do itself.

“The defendant then dragged the dog again before lifting it onto the other side of the railings on the edge of the path above the river. He then pushed the dog off and it went out of site, clearly going into the river.

“He then looked over the railings, looking in the river before he left the area.”

Sadistic dog killer Stephen Peveller from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Image: Facebook

The council worker contacted police and when they spoke to Peveller, he claimed the dog had fallen into the river and suggested he was worried.

The police subsequently found the Pomeranian dead in the river.

Recorder Mark Giuliani said: “He killed the dog through his actions.

“He threw it against the railings and it’s injured and then threw the injured dog into the river.”

He added: “It was sadistic behaviour. He dragged the dog, the dog looked up to him for help and he puts it over the barrier and pushed it into the cold river.”

Sadistic dog killer Stephen Peveller from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Image: Facebook

Sentencing Peveller to 27 months in prison, the judge told him: “You were walking along with your pet dog, a dog which in May last year you were seeking to keep in a hotel where you were living because it was your emotional support dog and you wanted to keep it despite hotel rules that pets were not allowed.

“It’s clear from the footage that even though you had injured the dog she still looked at you as her master for support.

“You did nothing to assist her, instead when she managed to get back on her feet and was clearly struggling and was clearly looking for you for support, you picked her up put her on the other side of the railings then threw her to her death into the river or the bank of the river.

“You killed your own dog callously and wickedly.”

Peveller pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

For Peveller, Jennifer Coxon said: “There is no getting around that this was a hideous incident and there’s not much mitigation I can put forward for his behaviour given he has no memory of what he has done. It’s an awful incident in relation to a dog which was his own for some time.

“He can’t recall owning a dog himself. He is a vulnerable man and has limited intellectual functioning.”

Sentencing | 27 months’ imprisonment. Banned from owning or keeping animals for life.

ChronicleLive

Animal Torture, Snaring and Trapping, squirrels, Wildlife Crime / Bloodsports

Doncaster, South Yorkshire: David Farrow

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CONVICTED (2022) | David Farrow, born c. 1951, of Thorne Road, Doncaster DN1 – tortured squirrels by trapping and drowning them.

Farrow pleaded guilty to one offence of causing unnecessary suffering to a squirrel under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. He also admitted using a Fenn trap in circumstances for which it was not approved for.

He was reported to the RSPCA by several people for trapping and drowning grey squirrels at his former home at Ranworth Close in Cusworth, Doncaster.

He said he’d used Fenn traps to catch the squirrels because they were pests, even though he was told the manner in which he was trapping them was unlawful.

RSPCA inspector Tamsin Drysdale visited Farrow’s bungalow on June 27, 2021 where the defendant showed her a humane trap he had set up in a lean-to.

Farrow explained he took the ensnared squirrels and drowned them in a water butt.

Inspector Dysdale said in a written statement presented to the court that she explained to Farrow that although his trap was legal, the drowning of squirrels was an offence.

He said he wasn’t aware of this and that he would now dispatch them with an air rifle,” said the inspector.

“He then said that he would get his nephew to kill them with a shotgun. I got the impression that he was not taking the situation seriously.”

Two weeks later the inspector paid another visit to Farrow’s bungalow with a police officer when he told them he was still trapping squirrels, but not drowning them.

He was told to stop his actions, but when RSPCA inspectors paid a further visit on October 15, 2021, a critically-injured squirrel was found dangling in a Fenn trap. The animal was put to sleep by one of the inspectors to end his suffering.

“The squirrel was hanging by its front leg from the trap, which was suspended with rope from the roof of the lean-to. The squirrel was alive, screaming and clearly in pain and distress,” said inspector Drysdale.

An expert report presented to the court by a veterinary surgeon said one of the squirrel’s front legs had been crushed by the trap and he would have been in “considerable pain”.

Fenn traps should be set in an artificial or natural tunnel and a person is guilty of an offence under the Pest Acts 1954 if they do not do so.

In mitigation, the court was told Farrow checked the traps twice daily and it was said had he known the animal was there he would have despatched it much earlier. He claimed he was unaware of the trap requirements and was trying to control the local squirrel population because they caused problems in his loft.

Magistrates fined Farrow £160 and told him his actions were incompetent, but were not those of “someone looking to deliberately ill-treat the animals”.

They said as he was now living in a bedsit without access to outdoor space he was unlikely to have an opportunity to continue this type of behaviour.

Farrow was also told to pay a £34 victim surcharge and £100 court costs.

Doncaster Free Press
Mirror

Cats, Hoarders, Worst of the Worst

Weymouth, Dorset: Mark Blazey

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CONVICTED (2022) | animal hoarder Mark Dean Blazey, born c. 1967, of Clayton Close, Weymouth DT3 6QZ – drowned 10 cats and dumped their bodies.

Mark Blazey was found guilty of two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and two counts of failing to undertake the duty of a person responsible for an animal to ensure its welfare during a two-day trial earlier.

The court heard that Blazey was responsible for the cats and ‘purposefully and forcibly’ drowned them by submerging them in a body of water.

He dumped five of them in two suitcases at Weymouth Recycling Centre on February 8, 2021. He returned to the same tip a week later and dumped five more dead cats in a black bin bag.

Blazey, who was said to have around 40 cats in his one-bedroom flat at the time of the incident, told the court that the cats were like his ‘family’. Despite offers from a neighbour to help him take them off his hands, he was reluctant to give them away because he wanted to know that they could be looked after.

When asked by prosecutor Rowan Morton about a bucket and tarpaulin found in his bathroom, he said that the bucket was used to create a make-shift water fountain for his cats to drink and play with, using a pump.

The defendant said that there was a possibility that the cats were poisoned and said that on one occasion, prior to the cats’ deaths, blue pills in an open envelope were posted through his letter box, which he believed made the cats ate, causing them to become sick. He said he could not remember if the cats survived. He said he fixed a cage on the inside of his letter box to stop anymore letters posted from dropping on the floor.

Blazey said he did not know how the cats died, or if they were found dead weeks before going to the tip with their bodies. He said he could not remember if all 10 cats had died all together or in two lots of five.

He said he wrapped the cats in a towel, to keep them ‘nice’, and put them in the bathtub. The bathtub was said to have also been used as a toilet by the cats and Blazey said he would often use the shower head to wash away faeces and urine, and did so while the dead cats were in there, causing them to be wet.

When asked why he didn’t call a vet, Blazey said he didn’t call because he was ‘scared’ and said he was reluctant to talk to police because he was worried his cats would be taken off of him. He said the reason he gave a largely no comment interview was because he was following the advice from his duty solicitor.

They court heard that the RSPCA inspector involved in the case, Patrick Bailey, noticed an overwhelming smell of urine when visiting Blazey’s address.

Prosecutors said the crime had “some level of pre-meditation” and said: “they (the cats) did suffer. The heart would have stopped beating after around five-to-ten minutes”.

Max Owen, mitigating, said Blazey was “clearly someone who loves animals” and suggested his client, living on universal credit, had sacrificed himself ‘almost everything’ to take care of the cats.

Mr Owen described Blazey as “very fond of his cats… they were of normal body weight, well-fed and seemed to be well cared for albeit in a very small flat.”

He said: “The reality is that losing his cats is going to be a devastating for him and a much greater punishment than any the court could give.”

The assistant manager of the recycling centre confirmed that he found five ‘sopping wet’ cats on both occasions.

At the conclusion of the trial, chair of the bench Mr Davidge said that they found Blazey guilty of drowning the cats and causing them unnecessary suffering.

Sentencing | 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days; £395 in fine, costs and victim surcharge. Disqualified from owning any animal for five years (expires August 2027) with the cats still in his possession to be removed within 24 hours.

Dorset Echo

Cats, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

St Austell, Cornwall: Rosie Zolla

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#MostEvil | Rosie Zolla, born 12 November 1993, of North Street, St Austell PL25 – drowned her pet cat after he trashed her kitchen.

Zolla pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

On February 19, 2021, Zolla’s pet cat Nana McPhee, a black and white male, who she’d had for six months was acting up in the kitchen of her then-home on Trembath Crescent, Newquay.

She took the cat upstairs, placed him in the bath, and drowned him by – according to a post mortem examination – possibly holding him under the water.

Zolla then took the body of the cat and placed it in the freezer.

Prosecuting the case at court, RSPCA prosecutor Tamsin Murphy said: “RSPCA inspector Kempson attended on February 19 2021 with a police officer, following reports Zolla had deliberately drowned a cat and put the body in a freezer.

“She let them in and admitted that she had put the cat in the bath, and put its body in the freezer.

“She had the cat for about six months, and asked how it died she said she put it in the bath.”

On February 24, two other RSPCA officers interviewed Zolla at her home and asked for more information on what happened.

She told the officers that the cat ruined her kitchen, and that she left him in the bath because it “had something coming out of its bum.”

Zolla said she was unsure how exactly how the cat died.

Dr Taylor, a veterinary pathologist, determined that Nana McPhee died due to drowning, and that he had injuries including water, blunt trauma to the face, and a skin injury near its anus.

The pathologist also reported that the cat would have suffered for a long time leading up to his death, and that there was some evidence he may have been held under the water.

Ms Murphy further told the court: “There were no signs of a cancer condition, or any tumours, swelling or other diseases to the cat.

“There are no previous matters against Ms Zolla, but there was no remorse shown to the RSPCA as far as she is concerned about the incident.”

Zolla’s lawyer said, in her defence, that she had been “suffering from profound mental health problems and alcoholism” when she drowned the cat.

He added: “Since then there have been a lot of changes in her life, she’s engaging with support services like We Are With You for example.

“Simply put, she’s on track to put right the things she did wrong at the time of this awful offence.

“She has a much more stable family life now, in a serious relationship with a man who supports her and they’re expecting a baby in June.”

He further said she had been receiving treatment for her alcoholism.

The magistrates retired for quite some time to read a report prepared by the two sides about the case.

Upon their return, they told Zolla that she would not be going to prison immediately – but that she is on thin ice.

The bench said: “We considered the matter carefully and we reached the conclusion that it is certainly past the custody threshold. This was really horrible cruelty to an animal, and we have no doubts in our minds it past it. However I’ll tell you we’ll suspend the sentence and I’ll give you the details in a minute.

“But first I want it made abundantly clear that we found this whole act of animal cruelty abhorrent. Utterly unacceptable madam.

“The fact the sentence we’ll pass is being suspended is not to be taken as any indication of this bench feeling this is not of the upmost gravity. It is.”

The magistrates continued: “”We were asked by our legal advisor why we were suspending this. We actually have two reasons. The first is your previous good character, second we actually have some belief in rehabilitation here.

“That is the reason this is not an instant custodial sentence. Our guidelines quite clearly say we can only suspend a sentence if we honestly believe that if the power was not there to suspend it we would send you straight to prison today. I tell you quite candidly we passed that threshold without a doubt.”

The magistrates finished by instructing a probation officer to keep in touch with the local authority regarding Zolla’s pregnancy, citing “concerns” over her caring “for any animal, be it a human or a cat.”

Sentencing: 18-week prison sentence suspended for two years, £400 to pay in costs and £128 as a victim surcharge; mental health and alcohol treatment requirement; rehabilitation. Banned from keeping pets for ten years with no chance of it being appealed sooner, despite protestations from Zolla’s defence.

Cornwall Live

Cats, Lifers, Worst of the Worst

Clacton-on-Sea, Essex: Catherine Young

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CONVICTED (2021) | Catherine Young, born 26 November 1966, of 2 Maldon Way, Clacton-on-Sea CO16 7PA – killed a ‘naughty’ kitten by putting her in a washing machine as a punishment.

Young admitted two animal welfare offences following a prosecution by the RSPCA.

The court heard how 12-week-old black and white kitten Morritz died after being put on a full cycle as a punishment for going to the toilet in the house.

The RSPCA was contacted after Young rang a veterinary practice on June 15, 2021, to say one of her kittens had died at home.

When she eventually arrived at the practice later that evening, she had with her one live male kitten called Bobbitz, and a dead female kitten called Morritz, who was cold and stiff with wet fur.

The court heard that when questioned about what had happened by a veterinary surgeon at the practice, Young admitted she had put Morritz in the washing machine because she had been “naughty” and defecated in the house.

She said she had rubbed the kitten’s face in the faeces to tell her off before putting her in the washing machine on a short cycle to clean her fur.

She said she had done this before and Morritz had been “fine.”

Young also admitted to the vet that she had withheld food and water from both kittens in the past for at least 24 hours because they had been naughty.

Bobbitz, a semi long haired black and white kitten, was examined and found to be clinically well.

Young was told that he would stay at the practice to be looked after and she would be unable to have him back.

RSPCA inspector Jessica Dayes, who investigated the case, interviewed Young on June 17.

“No other animals were seen at the address, however empty litter trays, cat litter, a broken cat carrier and a bag of cat food were still in the kitchen,” she said.

In his witness statement to the court, the vet said: “It is my opinion that the deceased kitten had undergone significant unnecessary suffering by being deliberately placed in a washing machine and then this being placed on a wash cycle.

“The spinning of the machine and the water would have caused significant pain, injury and huge amounts of stress.”

Young, who represented herself, said she had a personality disorder and mental health issues.

Bobbitz has been renamed Gulliver and is doing well in a new home.

Sentencing: ordered to pay a total of £379. Disqualified indefinitely from keeping all animals.

Chelmsford Weekly

Dogs, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Leven, Fife: Allan Petrie

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CONVICTED (2021) | Allan Petrie, born 28 August 1973, of 37 White Avenue, Leven KY8 4EN – drowned his Golden Retriever in a bathtub and sent the photos of the dog’s body to his ex partner

Allan Petrie and victim Jack

Twisted Petrie killed his 10-year-old dog Jack (pictured) at his home and texted horrific photographs of the aftermath to his ex.

In chilling text messages, Petrie told the woman: “I’ve just committed murder.”

He added: “Av put it oot his miserable f* life. And am next coming get your fucking collie.”

The text was followed by a smiling face emoji.

Sick Petrie also joked about harming his ex-girlfriend’s collie, shown above with Jack

Petrie, who according to his Facebook profile works as an HGV driver with Kiely Bros, pleaded guilty to the gut-wrenching charges in a letter to Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.

Allan Petrie

He admitted that between November 8 and 17, 2020, he caused unnecessary suffering to his dog Jack in that he submerged the dog’s head in water, whereby he ingested liquid and drowned.

He also admitted to sending a message deemed grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or of a menacing character to his ex-girlfriend.

Sheriff James Williamson said he had been “totally astonished” reading Petrie’s guilty plea letter.

He deferred sentence until July 1, 2021, for background reports and for Petrie to appear in person.

Courier

Update 9 August 2021:

Petrie has now had sentence deferred to September 2021.

He had been warned a custodial sentence was a possibility when a sheriff previously deferred sentence for a veterinary report on the dog’s health before it was killed.

Investigators were forced to dig up the body of the dog, called Jack, and a post mortem showed, in addition to aspirating water, the golden retriever had suffered a blunt force trauma.

Courier

Additional information

Second Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/allan.petrie.731

Cats, Lifers, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Briston, Norfolk: Beverley Lowe

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#MostEvil | Beverley Lowe (aka Beverley Atterbury), born 5 April 2001, of Old Post Road, Briston, Melton Constable NR24 7NB – drowned her two cats in the bath and dumped their bodies in her wheelie bin

Mother-of-one Lowe pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

The court heard how the cats – a black-and-white male called Gizmo and a tortoiseshell female called Delilah – would have suffered “fear, distress and panic” for at least four minutes when Lowe killed them in the bath at her home on October 22, 2020.

Johnathon Eales, prosecuting, said the dead cats were found wrapped in towels in a wheelie bin at Lowe’s house on October 24, after a friend of hers reported the matter.

The following day the RSPCA confiscated another cat and a pet chihuahua from Lowe.

Lowe had told authorities the cats had wandered outside when she left the door open while putting the rubbish out. She said she later found the cats with blood on them and that they had been in a road accident, so she put them in the bath to wash off the blood, and they drowned.

But an expert who investigated dismissed this claim, and said that while the cats had been through a “blunt force trauma”, the signs did not match a road accident.

Mr Eales said Lowe had no previous convictions and this was her first court appearance. He said: “This still leaves the burning question of why? Why do such a thing?”

Addressing the court, Lowe said: “I know what I did was wrong and I shouldn’t have done it. One of the witnesses kind of led me to kill the cats because she said that she would have done it after I said what had happened. Also because I was pregnant it was really stressful and it kind of led me to kill the cats anyway.”

Presiding magistrate Mary Wyndham said: “The harm was high because both cats, because of your treatment, were killed, and in a violent manner. And we’ve heard from an expert in this matter that great suffering was caused to both of these animals.”

Sentencing 18-month suspended jail sentence; costs of £728. Banned from owning pets for life.

Eastern Daily Press
Fakenham & Wells Times

Cats, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Southend-on-Sea, Essex: Connor Foster

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CONVICTED (2021) | Connor Foster, born c. 2001, of Stanier Close, Southend-on-Sea SS1 2NF – stole a cat and drowned her in the sink for kicks

“Troubled and lonely” teenager Connor Foster found the cat in nearby Ambleside Drive on March 18, 2021, and took her home before killing her. He then put the cat’s body in a bag and hung it over a fence.

After killing the animal, Foster filmed himself pretending to do CPR on the lifeless body.

Prosecuting, Ashley Petchey, summarised a victim impact statement from the owners of the cat.

He said: “The owner and her stepsons are devastated. The cat was owned by her partner who died of cancer and the family was just healing.

“It was the last physical contact with the father and they say to Foster the cat was nothing more than a toy but he was priceless to them.

“When the cat was dead he filmed himself playing with it and doing sarcastic gestures doing CPR saying he had done a good job.”

Mitigating, Christopher Holt, told the court Foster was lonely and a troubled teenager.

He said: “He’s a very troubled young man who committed a very serious matter which leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.”

Sentencing Foster, Elizabeth Hunter, chairman of the magistrates’ bench said: “This is a very nasty offence deliberately causing suffering to this cat.

“We’ve heard the distress caused to this family.

“Clearly you have a lot of problems.”

Sentencing: 12 weeks in prison; £228 in costs and compensation. Unspecified ban on keeping animals.

Gazette News

Cats, Violent and Sadistic Pet Abusers, Worst of the Worst

Adber, Dorset: Richard Giles

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CONVICTED (2021) | Richard Frank Giles, born April 1951, of Adber Court, Adber, Sherborne DT9 4SG – drowned a neighbour’s cat and dumped her body in a ditch

Cat killer Richard Giles from Adber, Dorset


Retired businessman Richard Giles callously drowned tabby cat Ruby because she was “ruining” his vegetable patch.

When Ruby’s worried owner, Shirley Gear-Evans, asked Giles if he had seen her pet after two days of searching for her, he said: “you won’t find her. I’ve killed her.”

Giles later blamed Ms Gear-Evans for Ruby’s demise, telling RSPCA investigators the widow should have trained her not to go after birds.

The court heard that Giles became fed-up with Ruby coming onto his property and causing a nuisance.

He and his late wife Judy had created a wildlife haven in their garden for birds and he became angry whenever the cat attacked them.

Giles was also annoyed at Ruby for ruining his seed bed in his garden.

Ruby, who was callously drowned by Richard Giles

The last straw came on September 19, 2020, when he found Ruby in his kitchen after he had left some food out. He caught her and killed her.

Matthew Knight, prosecuting, said Giles fell out his Ms Gear-Evans after he discovered she had taken in a rescue cat to keep her company in her retirement.

Mr Knight said: “On September 21st she bumped into the defendant and asked if he knew where Ruby was. He told her ‘well you won’t find her, she’s gone, I killed her’.

“He said he tried calling her on the 19th to tell her what had happened and there was a blocked number call at 8.27 that day.

Cat killer Richard Giles

“In interview he fully admitted he had drowned the cat in his water butt and dumped the body in a ditch. He said he killed her because he was concerned with germs and the effect of the cat on local birds.

“He criticised the owner for getting her from a rescue centre and criticised her for not training the cat.

“It is clear Mr Giles was under the impression his actions were justified.”

Vet Katrina Knill said that Ruby would have suffered terrible stress.
She said: “In my opinion death by drowning is a cause of extreme and unnecessary suffering to an animal and one of the most distressing states in which to see an animal.

“In water an animal will either hold its breath or its airway goes into spasm.

“Both cases are extremely stressful and cause the animal to thrash around.

“When the animal is exhausted and no longer able to hold its breath, water rushes in.

“Brain activity continues for around three minutes prior to death.”

In a victim impact statement Ms Gear-Evans, a retired NHS manager, said the event had a “huge impact” on her life.

She said: “I am now looking at making security arrangements and the police have advised me to take out a civil injunction. I no longer feel I can have another cat.”

Magistrate Richard MacRae said: “It is a very serious offence and has caused a lot of distress, not just to the owner but to the general public as well by all accounts.”

Giles pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

Elisa Allen, a director for the animal rights organisation PETA, slammed the decision not to jail Giles as a ‘mistake’.

She said: “Giving a self-confessed animal abuser a suspended sentence may result in more suffering and even pose a threat to the entire community.

“It is a mistake with potentially fatal consequences. Anyone capable of taking out their frustration on a cat by killing the animal should be locked up and barred from having any future contact with animals.”

Sentencing: 12-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months; £1,000 compensation to Ms Gear Evans; £728 court costs.

The Sun