CONVICTED (2024) | Kyle Hollingsworth, born 21 June 1991, of Moor Street Mansfield – repeatedly punched and kicked a police dog.
Lifelong thug Kyle Hollingsworth was jailed after kicking and punching a police dog
Violent career criminal and drug addict Hollingsworth was reported to police after he broke into a woman’s back garden in Gladstone Street, Mansfield, and began banging on windows.
A dog officer on routine patrol attended the scene at around 9.30pm on 27 October 2023 and challenged Hollingsworth in the street. Hollingsworth, who was carrying a large bottle at the time, refused to comply with instructions from the officer and approached her.
PD Max wasn’t badly injured and soon returned to police duties
Doing his job, Police Dog Max bit the thug on the hand and stomach.
Hollingsworth then lashed out at at the dog and continued to punch and kick him even after he was taken to the floor.
Hollingsworth was arrested at the scene and later pleaded guilty to criminal damage, affray and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
The court heard Hollingsworth has 44 previous convictions for 100 offences, including criminal damage, threats and abusive behaviour. He was last before the courts in 2022 for dwelling burglary and a string of thefts
Max, a two-year-old German shepherd who already has an impressive service history, escaped serious injury in the attack and is now back on the beat.
CONVICTED (2024) | Harry Locker, born 7 January 2000, of Nethergate Street in Hopton, near Diss IP22 2QZ – placed a live chicken into a cage containing ferrets and filmed as the bird was attacked and slowly killed.
Locker pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, by causing a ferret to attack a white coloured chicken.
The RSPCA was alerted to the incident by a member of the public that the bird had been deliberately put in the cage with the ferrets.
The defendant was arrested and three videos were found on his phone showing his ferrets attacking and killing the chicken.
A vet who examined the videos said the suffering was caused directly by the person who placed the bird in with the ferrets and that based on the videos it appeared the bird took three minutes to die – during which time it was repeatedly attacked and bitten.
Speaking after the case RSPCA Inspector Caroline Richardson said: “The footage is very difficult to watch. Animals are sentient creatures who feel emotions and this poor bird was made to suffer for almost three minutes while it was attacked.
“I am pleased the defendant has been held to account for his actions. I hope this case sends out a clear message that deliberate cruelty of this kind is not ever acceptable.”
The ferrets were signed over to the RSPCA.
In mitigation the defendant said that he had mental health issues and that this was a foolish thing to have done.
Sentencing | 18 month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days; A total of £1,964 in costs and victim surcharge. Banned from keeping all animals, except for dogs, for five years (expires January 2029).
CONVICTED (2024) | Mark Williams, born 13 July 1985, of The Deanes, Tiverton EX16 5GT – kicked his partner’s pet chihuahua and threw him 20 feet across a room.
Williams, who was once hailed as a hero after jumping into a canal to rescue a dog in distress, became so angry that he punched his own television and partially throttled his girlfriend before venting his rage on her tiny dog. The attack took place in the presence of a four-year-old boy.
Nigel Wraith, prosecuting, said Williams had been in a volatile on-off relationship with the woman for some time. She was living at his home on March 31, 2023, when an argument started after he returned home drunk.
Teacup chihuahua Smoothie was severely injured in the drink-fuelled attack but survived
He became jealous, threw her mobile telephone against a wall, punched and broke his television and put one hand around her throat, obstructing her airway and leaving her gasping for breath.
He then kicked her teacup chihuahua, Smoothie, before picking the dog up and throwing her out of the living room and into the kitchen where she hit the oven door and could be heard yelping in pain.
The owner reckoned Williams threw the dog the distance of three small cars parked end to end.
The dog suffered injuries to her jaw and hips.
Williams admitted intentional strangulation and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
Williams’ lawyer Evie Dean said her client was addressing his use of alcohol and seeking help for “mental health issues”.
Sentencing | jailed for 14 months, suspended for two years; 120-day alcohol abstinence tag; relationship course; 120 hours of unpaid community work. No ban.
CONVICTED (2024) | Daniel Bayley, born c. 1981, formerly of Kidlington, Oxfordshire, but now no fixed abode – caught hitting his pet dog and dragging him by the collar.
Bayley pleaded guilty to hitting the dog, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Bailey, and intentionally sitting on him.
He was also seen dragging the dog by his collar.
It was ordered the dog was removed from Bayley, now of no fixed abode, and he was banned from owning an animal for five years.
He was also fined £200. There were court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £80.
CONVICTED (2024) | pet hoarder Anita J Cross, born 1958, of Tilgarsley Road, Eynsham, Witney, OX29 4PP – ordered to give up seven dogs, 14 cats and two kittens under animal welfare legislation.
Cross appeared at Oxford Magistrates Court on January 15, 2024, after an application was made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to remove several animals from her.
The application was made under section 18(15) which authorises an inspector or constable to take a protected animal into possession where a veterinary surgeon certifies that it is suffering or is likely to suffer.
After the hearing, it was ordered that the animals be removed and administered treatment. There were seven dogs, 14 cats, and two kittens.
Cross was also ordered to pay West Oxfordshire District Council £1,000 for the veterinary intervention costs.
CONVICTED (2024) | Wally David Beaney, born 15/11/1984, his wife Maria Smith, born 18/05/1988, and her mother Louise Smith, born 28/08/1960, all of 2 Beechwood Gardens, Meopham, Gravesend DA13 0SD, Charlotte Lauren Byron, born 15/04/1987, of Longfield Road, Meopham, Gravesend, and her mother Deborah Lorraine Lampard aka Deborah Kirsch, born 11/08/1964 of 123 Highview, Vigo, Gravesend DA13 0UT – kept dozens of dogs in horrific conditions and sold gravely ill and dying dogs to buyers.
Of the five members of a gang of fraudulent puppy farmers estimated to have netted £500,000,, only one escaped a prison sentence. L-R Maria Smith, Wally Beaney, Debbie Lampard, Charlotte Byron
The cruel and illicit activities of the gang were uncovered during a raid on 22 September 2021 by rural crime police officers and the RSPCA. A total of 36 dogs and three cats were taken away and £10,000 was seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Police made eight arrests, acting on four animal welfare warrants and also seized 12 vehicles and were able to return a farm vehicle to its owner.
All members of the gang, apart from Debbie Lampard who walked free with a conditional discharge, received prison sentences for duping the public and showing ‘cruelty and neglectful behaviour’ that led to the death of multiple dogs.
The gang reaped considerable financial benefit by repeatedly breeding dogs, while failing to provide appropriate medical care.
Some of the puppies had been poorly with parvo virus – a highly contagious and often fatal illness – and had died within days of being taken to their new home.
During a raid on three properties in Kent in October 2021 over 30 puppies were recovered.
A vet described the puppies’ living conditions as ‘dark and smelly’, with three puppies requiring ‘urgent’ veterinary attention.
Many adult dogs were also found in the garden of the raided properties – including two pregnant dogs who were riddled with parasites and dental issues.
Phones containing enquiries from people about purchasing the puppies were also seized during the search.
RSPCA inspector Vikki Dawe said: ‘These dogs were all being kept in horrible conditions with very poor care which did not remotely reflect the expectations of buyers who saw the adverts placed for them.’
Woolwich Crown Court heard that, in one instance, three Golden Retriever puppies, all purchased from Byron’s address in Kent in July 2021, died within four days of being purchased.
Wally Beaney, a traveller, received the longest custodial term of the gang
A vet who examined the case said in a statement: ‘This suggests that the seller knew a litter mate was sick at the time of their sale.
‘Yet the other puppy purchasers were not notified, either at purchase that a litter mate was unwell or that a litter mate became unwell.
‘It is my opinion that the seller failed to protect the three pups discussed in this report by not sharing with the new owners that he had detected signs of disease in another litter mate.’
Beaney with wife Maria Smith, who also went to jail
All five defendants were sentenced on January 25, 2024.
Wally Beaney pleaded guilty to four offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, as well as one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Louise Smith pleaded guilty to one offence under Animal Welfare Act 2006 and one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Maria Smith pleaded guilty to two offences under Animal Welfare Act 2006, and a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Charlotte Byron pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Debbie Lampard pleaded guilty to selling puppies without a licence.
Sergeant Darren Walshaw, of Kent Police’s Rural Task Force, said: ‘Those convicted reaped considerable financial benefit by repeatedly breeding dogs, all the while failing to provide the animals and their puppies with appropriate medical care, such as worming medication and inoculations.
‘They demonstrated cruelty and neglectful behaviour that ultimately led to numerous animals losing their lives unnecessarily.’
Sentencing |
Wally Beaney: four and a half years’ immediate custody. Ten year-ban on keeping dogs.
Louise Smith: two years and four months in custody, Banned from keeping dogs for five years.
Maria Smith: two years and four months in custody. Disqualified from keeping dogs for five years.
Charlotte Byron: two years and three months in custody.No ban.
Debbie Lampard: 18-month conditional discharge. No ban.
CONVICTED (2024) | Stephen Atterbury, born 29 July 1966, and Emma Richardson, born 29 July 1980, of 14 Sholebroke Street, Chapeltown, Leeds LS7 3HT – for the starvation and neglect of their pet Rottweiler.
Leeds animal abuser Stephen Atterbury
The RSPCA seized Rottweiler Tyson from Stephen Atterbury and Emma Richardson after the cruel pair failed to address his poor condition.
The charity had made numerous visits to the couple’s home after receiving a report of concern about a dog living there. While officers could hear a dog, he could not be seen. Officers left advisory notices – which include advice on steps an owner should take for their animals – but Atterbury and Richardson failed to respond.
An RSPCA officer managed to speak with the pair in April 2021. Although initially reluctant to allow the RSPCA officer to see their dog, Atterbury admitted that Tyson was skinny, but said he was too.
The officer was eventually allowed to see Tyson and was extremely concerned about his poor bodily condition, describing him as “obviously underweight”. They added that “his ribs, spine, hips and his stomach was sunken. His back legs looked to be lacking in muscle and the top of his head was sunken on either side so appeared pointy.”
The couple claimed that Tyson was eating and toileting normally and showed no concern about his condition. They declined the RSPCA’s offer to take the dog to a vet for an assessment.
They were issued with a welfare notice, stating that Tyson would need to be seen by a vet but this instruction was never followed and the dog’s condition deteriorated further.
An RSPCA inspector returned to the property on 1 May 2021 with a West Yorkshire Police officer. This time Tyson was described as “very thin, his face was gaunt [and] he had dried faeces all over his back.”
Tyson was removed from the home by the officer and placed into the care of the RSPCA.
He was taken to a vet, who said the dog was emaciated with marked muscle wastage over the head, body trunk and limbs, and also showed signs of diarrhoea.
The veterinary surgeon stated: “In my professional opinion (Tyson) had been suffering due to a lack of veterinary treatment or investigation into the degree of emaciation present. This could have been easily avoided in my opinion by the owner seeking veterinary attention or feeding the dog appropriately.”
Tyson has since been put on a feeding plan and has fully recovered, and after nearly a year in RSPCA care, he was able to be released for rehoming.
Atterbury and Richard were both found guilty of animal welfare offences.
Sentencing | Both: 12-week custodial suspended for 12 months; rehabilitation; £172.00 costs and £128 victim surcharge each. Banned from owning all animals indefinitely.
CONVICTED (2023/24) | Lauren Angela Downes, born 3 May 1985, of Parc Mellan, Penzance TR18 3PB, and Wayne Hickman, born c. 1979, also of Penzance – left their dog in constant pain with chronic dental disease.
Lauren Downes pleaded guilty to causing suffering to the Staffy-type dog named Ruby and was sentenced in August 2023. Her partner, hotel worker Wayne Hickman, initially denied the charges, but later changed his plea. His sentencing hearing was in January 2024.
Wayne Hickman and his partner Lauren Downes left Ruby in constant pain from untreated dental disease
Hickman’s defence barrister told the court that his client had no money, was in arrears with his rent and was in the process of being evicted from his home.
“He accepts that he can’t have a dog for the foreseeable future and there is genuine remorse that at a time when he was struggling with a relationship breakdown,” he said.
“His dog was neglected in a way that it should not have been.”
Sentencing Hickman, Judge Simon Carr said the circumstances of this case were “chilling”.
“You were joint owner with your partner of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier,” he said.
“One of the features in the reports of this case that I have read is that this was one of the most mild mannered and gentle and amenable dogs it was possible to imagine.
“In some ways that makes the brutality it experienced even worse.”
He said in 2022 when Hickman was living with Downes it was obvious during a veterinary visit paid for by others that this dog needed “substantial” dental care.
The photographs of the dog’s teeth were not easy to look at, he said, and it would be obvious to anyone seeing them that work needed to be done.
“The dog would have been in constant pain,” he said.
He said despite separating from his partner he continued to see the dog and would have been aware she was suffering and the appalling conditions in which she was kept and yet he did nothing.
He said even if Hickman could not have afforded a vet he could have contacted the RSPCA and any other organisation.
“Instead you chose to close your eyes, turn your back and allow your dog to suffer as this dog suffered every minute of every day with those pains,” he said.
“When you take on responsibility for an animal you take on a huge responsibility. It is you they look to for security and food for treatment when they need it. Taking on an animal is not something you take on part time and you failed consummately in your obligations.”
During Lauren Downes’ sentencing hearing the court noted that custody was appropriate given the prolonged incidents of serious neglect that caused very high levels of suffering to the dog , despite warnings and professional advice.
Sentencing | Wayne Hickman: 12-week custodial suspended for two years; £1,000 towards costs. Banned from owning a dog for 10 years (expires January 2034) . Lauren Downes: 12-week custodial suspended for 18 months; rehabilitation; 200 hours of unpaid work; £400 towards costs plus £154 victim surcharge. Banned from keeping all animals for 15 years (expires August 2038).
CONVICTED (2024) | horse breeder Jane Elizabeth Moore, born 3 December, of Jemoon Stud, Deira, The Common, Market Weighton YO43 4LE – kept 36 neglected horses in squalor with ten of them having to be put down.
The RSPCA and World Horse Welfare found 36 horses living in squalor at Jane Moore’s East Yorkshire stud farm.
One of the horses was in such poor condition he had to be put down immediately, three more were euthanised two days later and six other horses were euthanised in the following months.
When inspectors visited Moore’s yard in early 2023, they found a number of animals in distress, including a stallion called Puzzle Pic n Mix, who had dental issues and a diseased penis.
A male Cleveland Bay called Earlswood Traveller had lameness and a lice infestation, and another stallion called Spadge was also lame, had a sinus cyst and ‘obvious ill health’.
A bay mare, Henby, had ulcerated cheeks, and five other horses called Hedi, Whizz, Robbie and Nellie were in poor condition and also lame. Bay mare Cassie was a victim of ‘poor husbandry’, piebald mare Pollyanna was infested with mites, and Basil, JDJ5 and Sammy also had inadequate dental care. Bay gelding Archie and a chestnut mare had not been given pain relief of proper hoof care, and a piebald mare called Lucky had an infected sheath that had not been treated.
RSPCA Inspector Natalie Hill told the court: “All the horses were living in extremely dirty stables with little food or water. They all had overgrown hooves and they were in poor body condition.
“Within one stable block there was a very strong smell of urine and the horses’ rugs were found to be very dirty and extremely heavy. It appeared to me that all the horse stables had not been cleaned in some time and on some horses their feet were very long and overgrown.”
The horses did not have adequate nutrition, a suitable environment, farrier attention, veterinary and dental treatment, and preventative treatment for lice and mites.
A vet’s expert report to the court said Moore had failed to ensure a suitable environment for her equines, failed to provide adequate veterinary care and failed to ensure they were kept in a healthy body condition.
Of the 36 horses, 22 were underweight and most were suffering from dental issues and overgrown hooves, while three had lice and mite infections.
Moore pleaded guilty to 10 offences of causing unnecessary suffering to 17 horses and one charge of failing to meet the needs of 36 equines.
The court heard defence mitigation that Moore was “no longer up to the task of looking after such a large number of horses”.
It was claimed she had been isolated and lonely after a marriage break-up and the loss of her parents and her pride had prevented her from asking for help.
The court heard that at the time of the charity’s visit, she was in hospital and relying on friends to care for the horses. She also had had a lack of finances which prevented her dealing with some of the health problems.
The chairman of the magistrates told Moore: “This was a case where these animals were so obviously struggling that intervention was obvious and necessary. The fact that it was not forthcoming was down in large part to your own pride and your refusal to ask for help.”
Inspector Hill said after the hearing: “These horses were found in dreadful conditions with multiple health problems. They were being kept confined to their stables for long periods and it appeared they were rarely exercised.
“One sadly had to be put to sleep on the day we first visited, although that course of action had been recommended by a vet several months before. There were several other horses in very poor health too, including one whose teeth had grown through his cheek and was in a lot of pain and discomfort.
“In all 10 of the 36 horses have had to be put to sleep and the others have got long-term health issues from being neglected for such a long time, such as ligament and joint problems, that only a small number will be able to be rehomed.”
Sentencing | 20-week prison sentence, suspended for two years; £13,099.27 in court costs and £154 statutory surcharge. Disqualified from keeping equines indefinitely.
Jemoon Stud’s Facebook page, last updated in June 2023, advertises that the farm ‘breeds quality show/competition horses including pure/part bred Cleveland Bays. Currently standing five stallions, producing for the future.”
Moore was listed as one of around 30 registered breeders of pure Cleveland Bays by the Cleveland Bay Society in 2022 – one of whom was the late Queen Elizabeth.
CONVICTED (2024) | sadistic thug Byron Bayliss, born 14 November 2002, of Dover Street, Bilston, Wolverhampton but with links to Dudley – systematically beat and tortured a puppy over several months, ultimately resulting in the animal’s death.
Sick puppy killer Byron Bayliss from Wolverhampton, West Midlands
Bayliss tortured’ the six-month-old terrier, Shadow, to death and buried his remains in the garden.
His body was recovered by police and found to have extensive injuries.
Bayliss was prosecuted by the RSPCA and admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
The abuse took place between October 2022 and February 2023.
The police and RSPCA attended an address at Merrick Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton to investigate.
Bayliss’s mobile phone was seized and revealed he had made Google searches including ‘is it illegal to abandon a dog uk’, ‘is it illegal to leave a dog uk’ and ‘is it illegal to kill a dog uk’.
A post-mortem found Shadow had sustained extensive blunt force trauma with tears and bleeding to multiple internal organs including the liver, right kidney, lungs, diaphragm, heart sack and left heart chamber.
His vertebral column had completely dislocated.
A vet report concluded: “Shadow sustained severe blunt force trauma most likely due to being beaten.
“There was also evidence of healing processes in several areas of the body suggesting that Shadow had been beaten in the past, before the beating that caused his death.
“There is radiographic evidence of at least one historic rib fracture which shows healing that I estimate to be at least four weeks old, possibly older. There are radiographic signs of a fractured lumbar vertebra and a suspected healed fracture to the left front leg.
“He likely died following a sustained beating with multiple blows to different parts of the body that caused multiple internal bleeds and dislocation of vertebrae in his chest spine. The force of the blunt trauma would have been very severe to have caused these injuries and would have caused severe pain and extreme distress.”
In mitigation, the court heard Bayliss was of previous good character, was ‘immature’ and had ‘untreated’ mental health issues due to ‘previous traumatic events’.
Judge Avik Mukherjee said: “Shadow was a six-month-old terrier puppy. For almost all of his life you frankly tortured him.
He ruled against suspending imprisonment and concluded Bayliss must be jailed immediately.
He said: “There is no evidence of a realistic prospect of rehabilitation at present. I’m afraid appropriate punishment for an offence of this nature can only be served by way of immediate custody.
“A deterrent sentence must be passed in cases of this sort. This offence is as serious a case of this nature as there can be.”
“It is difficult to find a different verb to describe what you did to him. I have concluded your behaviour was sadistic. That is someone who gains pleasure from inflicting pain.
“It was prolonged. You showed no remorse at the end of each attack. You repeated your behaviour over many weeks. They became more severe, more merciless.
“It’s impossible to imagine how Shadow felt over his short life. I can’t imagine a case of this nature that could be more serious.”
Sentencing | 21 month custodial. Banned from keeping animals for 20 years.
