CONVICTED (2017) | Neil Duncan Harper, born 24 September 1978, currently of Montacute, Somerset and previously of Parksey Park, Pitney in Langport – starved two horses and a foal to emaciation
Harper, who is originally from Uckfield, East Sussex, was found guilty of three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to three horses.
He was found to have failed to investigate and address the cause of grey gelding Aramis’ weight loss, failed to ensure six-week-old colt Tristan had received adequate nutrition and failed to investigate or address the poor condition of his dam Meggy.
The RSPCA was called by members of the public concerned for the horses’ welfare.
Inspector Marie Griffiths said: “It was heartbreaking to see horses so extremely thin and undernourished and particularly upsetting to find that Meggy had suffered such weight loss that she was physically unable to produce milk to nourish her young foal.
“To let these horses get into such a shocking state is inexcusable. Aramis had been left to suffer so badly, he sadly passed away, but thankfully both Meggy and her foal Tristan have made a brilliant recovery and I hope that they will now go on to live out their days in wonderful, loving homes.”
Harper had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing, saying he felt he had done all he could to care for his animals.
Meggy and Tristan, who were seized by police and given into the RSPCA’s care at the time they were found, have been signed over to the charity to be rehomed.
Sentencing: Fined £400 and ordered to pay £1,000 court costs. Banned from owning horses for life.
CONVICTED (2017) | William Duguid, born 15/11/1990, of Tullos Circle, Torry, Aberdeen AB11 8HD – hit his pet dog with a chain and kicked her
One of life’s eternal losers: druggie animal-abusing William Duguid of Tullos Circle, Aberdeen whose pet dog lost her life for being the ‘wrong’ breed
Duguid was told to stop by a concerned neighbour when he was lashing out at the pitbull terrier in a pub car park in Aberdeen in May 2016.
The dog, which is an illegal breed to keep in the UK, had earlier bitten a member of the public, and a drugged-up Duguid was hitting the pet as a reaction to the earlier incident.
Dugid, who has been in trouble with the law repeatedly, appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in June 2017 where he admitted possessing a “dangerous dog” and causing her to suffer unnecessary harm.
Fiscal depute Colin Neilson said: “A woman looked out of her window and saw the accused with a dog.
“He seemed to be hitting the dog with a chain. She told him to stop. He was disagreeable to this. He was also seen repeatedly kicking the dog to the body.
“She contacted police. CCTV footage was seen which showed him making as kicking motion towards the dog.”
Representing Duguid, defence agent Ian McGregor said: “Something had happened before with the dog. He is somewhat hazy with regards to the events. He had taken various substances that day.
“He has owned this dog for a period of nine years and there have been no other incidents. He has always taken the dog to the vet when it needed to go.
“He reacted to an incident earlier in the day when the dog had bitten a member of the public. That happened about ten minutes before.”
Sheriff Graham Buchanan told Duguid: “I am required by law to order the destruction of the dog, which is a breed that is illegal in this country.”
Sentence: £750 fine; banned from keeping animals for five years (expired June 2022).
CONVICTED (2017) | Owain Dinnick, born 07/03/1986, of Newport Road, Rumney in Cardiff – allowed crossbreed dog George to become emaciated
Dinnick pleaded guilty to an Animal Welfare Act offence on 10 May 2017. RSPCA Cymru investigated, after receiving reports of a dog being kept in a Cardiff flat, who appeared very hungry.
The dog, named George, was collected by a local authority dog warden in December 2016, when it was seen that his ribs, spine and hips were visible. He was covered in urine, had sores on his front legs and scabs on his tail.
Speaking after the case, RSPCA inspector Selina Chan said: “This poor dog must have been so hungry, and been through such a difficult time. Bones were visible across his skin, and he had nasty sores and scabs on his coat.
“Sadly, the lack of action, care and attention from the owner caused the dog to suffer unnecessarily. His suffering could have been avoided had the owner acted responsibly.
“Owning a dog is a privilege, and this case is another example as to the necessary action the RSPCA will take when an animal is treated in this way.
“Fortunately, George gained weight and improved dramatically once in RSPCA care”.
Sentence: 80 hours of unpaid work over 12 months; total costs and charges of £802.20; disqualified from keeping dogs for 5 years (expired June 2022).
CONVICTED (2017) | Lisa Platt (aka Lisa Bagguley), born 5 January 1974, of Prosser Street, Wolverhampton WV10 9AR, and son Kyle Platt, born 12 September 1995, now of St Patrick’s Drive, in Newcastle-under-Lyme – left their three pet dogs neglected and starving in a filthy back yard for at least three months.
Three starving dogs were rescued from a miserable existence with then owners Lisa and Kyle Platt: Staffordshire bull terriers King and Ace and a German Shepherd called Sasha. Red and white Staffy Ace was so poorly that he was 24 hours from death. Almost every bone in his body was clearly visible and protruding.
24 hours from death: Staffy King has since recovered from his previous owners’ cruel neglect.
The other dogs were also underweight and GSD Sasha was also suffering from an untreated skin problem that had caused her to lose fur.
Lisa Platt and son Kyle Platt, who has since moved to Newcastle-under-Lyme, both pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to Ace and King. Lisa Platt also admitted an additional charge of failing to ensure that the needs of Sasha were met.
Staffy King was also extremely underweight
RSPCA inspector Dawn Burrell, who investigated the case, said: “Ace was skin and bones when he was rescued – he was incredibly docile and he was dying in front of us. He was unable to stand and had to be carried into the vet’s. He was so underweight that the vet said if he’d been left another 24 hours, he would be dead.
In addition to being underweight GSD Sasha had a painful untreated skin condition.
“King and Sasha were also in a bad way. They were living in horrible conditions outside in a back yard, which was completely covered in faeces. Put simply, they were being neglected and had been for a period of at least three months.”
Inspector Burrell said it was ‘touch-and-go’ for a while whether Ace would survive but after weeks of veterinary treatment, the dog pulled through. King and Sasha also recovered and all three animals have now been rehomed.
Inspector Burrell said: “It is not acceptable to treat animals like this. Pet owners have a legal responsibility to ensure that their pets are being fed, being kept in a suitable environment and are being treated for any medical ailments.
“Ace, King and Sasha were being failed by their owners. Thankfully, all three dogs are now in happy new homes and are thriving.”
Sentencing | 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months; ordered to pay £150 prosecution costs each. 10-year ban on keeping dogs (expires June 2027).
CONVICTED (2017) | Lee Roberts, born 1 August 1985, of Grasmere Crescent, Kendal LA9 6LP – failed to seek treatment for a mare riddled with health issues
Roberts was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal after his piebald mare pony, Brenda, was found vastly underweight and suffering with worms and lice.
The RSPCA brought charges against Roberts following a tip off from a member of the public that his pony, whom he had bought for £200 at Appleby Horse Fair, had delivered an aborted foal in a field at Underbarrow.
RSPCA inspector William Lamping told the court that he had attended the farm at Greenridge Mill and found the pony in ‘very poor condition’.
“We had a report of a mare that had aborted a foal in a field and was looking quite bad,” he said.
He described Brenda as ‘unresponsive’ and in a poor condition with her hip bones, spine and ribs clearly visible and she had diarrhoea staining around her rear.
Mr Lamping said Roberts was unaware the pony was pregnant and there was no sign of the foetus at the farm.
Roberts told the court he later found the aborted foal at approximately 11pm that evening, covered by leaves and grass.
Veterinary expert Jane King was called to assess Brenda and given Roberts’ confrontational demeanour, the police were called so the animal could be formally seized and placed into the care of the RSPCA, the court heard.
Mrs King told the court of the results of an examination carried out on the horse.
She said that when placed on the scales on September 22, she weighed just 188.5kg against an ideal weight of around 300kg.
She added that Brenda was suffering with diarrhoea – a potentially life-threatening condition in an adult pony – had a severe lice problem, and passed a large amount of parasitic worms after being administered wormer.
It was her view that Brenda had aborted the foal because of her deteriorating condition which was caused by the worm and lice infestation and would have passed the foetus in no more than two days after it died.
In contrast to the expert’s testimony however, Roberts, who said he had owned horses for five years, suggested it could have been dead inside Brenda for the preceding two weeks, causing her to become ill.
Throughout the hearing, Roberts insisted he had not caused Brenda to suffer and that he had done his best for her.
“I believe the foal died naturally but stayed inside Brenda which made her ill,” he said.
“I’m good with my horses – they’ve all been fine up to now. I feel Brenda was just ill but it was not caused by me.”
The charge of causing unnecessary suffering, between June 19 and September 19, 2016, related to Roberts’ failure to administer adequate worm treatment – it was accepted he had given treatment but it had not worked.
Roberts also denied two charges of failing to meet the needs of the animal that a responsible owner would be expected to do in the two weeks before RSPCA intervened.
These concerned the lack of investigation and response to Brenda’s weight loss and the lack of treatment to the lice problem.
Returning guilty verdicts to all charges, chairman of the bench Gary Ormondroyd said: “You may have attempted to protect Brenda from disease but this was ineffective.
“You should have sought professional veterinary advice, especially given the severity of the illness.
“You were complacent and misguided in your own capability to deal with sick animals.
“We are satisfied Brenda was suffering and in pain and it was caused by your failure to treat her.”
A deprivation order was made placing Brenda in the custody of the RSPCA, but magistrates declined to ban Roberts from owning animals. He was fined £1,350 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs and a £45 victim surcharge.
CONVICTED (2017) | Frith Mitchell, born c. 1973 , of New Street, Musselburgh – failed to feed his pet cat properly or take him to a vet for urgent treatment.
Mitchell pleaded guilty to causing his cat, named Tiga, unnecessary suffering through failing to provide a suitable diet and failing to seek veterinary treatment.
His court appearance followed an investigation by the Scottish SPCA.
Commenting on the investigation and court case, Scottish SPCA Inspector Stephanie McCrossan said: “Tiga was in a very poor skeletal condition.
“He was dragging his leg, which was protruding at an awkward angle, across the floor as he walked and it was clear he was in urgent need of veterinary treatment.
“After taking Tiga to the vet, we found out that he had several health issues which would have caused him to suffer unnecessarily for a prolonged period of time due to his owner failing to seek the necessary veterinary treatment he clearly required.
“Unfortunately the vet made the decision to put him to sleep due to the severity of his conditions.
“We are pleased that Mitchell has been dealt with by the courts and hope he will give serious consideration to his ability to care for animals in the future.”
Sentencing: 85 hours of unpaid work. 10-year ban on keeping animals (expires June 2027).
CONVICTED (2017) | Susan Harling, born c. 1959, of Spring Grove Street, Huddersfield HD1 4BP – breached a court order given in June 2016 banning her from keeping animals
Discharged conditionally for 12 months. Banned from keeping or participating in keeping animals for four years. Ordered to pay a £20 surcharge and £30 costs.
Previous Animal Cruelty Conviction (June 2016) Ordered to pay £300 costs and banned from keeping animals for five years. Ban expired 2021.
