CONVICTED (2024) | Aled Wyn Roberts, born 6 May 1991, most recently of High Street, Tywyn, but originally from Pwlhelli, Caernarfonshire – beat a puppy before choking him to death after the ‘novelty’ of owning a dog wore off.
Roberts admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a black collie called Twm by inflicting blunt force trauma and violence including strangulation.
Prosecuting counsel Gareth Bellis said Roberts was described by a friend as having a history of failing to care properly for animals. He would leave them in cages and forget about them at his dirty and grubby flat. Roberts didn’t know a hamster was dead in a cage.
He had also allegedly smacked his cats.
Details of Aled Roberts’ horrific cruelty towards a defenceless puppy were shared across social media with one animal lover starting a petition to demand justiceSome disturbing allegations were made about both Roberts himself as well as his mother
Mr Bellis said, during a video call with a woman in April 2023, Roberts had complained about the behaviour of his five-month-old border collie.
“The dog was crying in its crate,” the prosecutor said.
The defendant appeared to hit the dog forcefully with his hand. He’d also been witnessed kicking and punching the dog.
The same morning the friend had received another call and grinning Roberts said the dog was dead.
Twm’s body was taken to a vet where Roberts told a receptionist he didn’t know how the pet had died.
Roberts had previously attempted to choke a cat with a headphone lead and screamed at a budgie and refused to feed it, the court heard.
Jailing him for 18 months Judge Timothy Petts at Caernarfon crown court banned him for life from owning any animal.
The judge told Roberts that after acquiring the puppy “you clearly had no idea how to look after him properly. The novelty had worn off.
“You went from neglect to being cruel and violent towards him,” Judge Petts added.
Eventually Twm had been strangled with a chain.
“The suffering he sustained must have been considerable,” the judge said. A post-mortem examination showed internal injuries to the “defenceless” puppy including fractured ribs.
Roberts’ lawyer said his client’s “mental health problems” had led to the sad situation and had urged the judge to consider a suspended sentence.
CONVICTED (2023) | sadistic Daniel Taylor, born c. 1992, of 99 Shrewsbury Road, Manton, Worksop S89 2TX – tortured, killed and mutilated more than 100 deer, foxes, badgers and pigeons.
A police search of the home Daniel Taylor shares with company director wife Georgina Ruth Taylor, née Georgina Brigham, revealed over 100 graphic phone videos and images which showed him attacking, decapitating and encouraging his dogs to fight and kill wildlife.
Prosecutor Lucy Woodcock told the court: “In some videos he is seen dissecting the animals and ripping internal organs out”.
Officers also found 15 deer heads and 14 fox tails, as well as snares and weapons.
Police found a shocking hoard of deer skulls, fox tails and weapons at Daniel Taylor’s family home
A blood-stained quad bike and lamping equipment were also recovered.
Police arrested Taylor, confiscated his phone and removed his dogs from the house as part of the investigation.
Officers were able to map the images and videos on his phone to specific locations.
PC Mark Holland, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “From this we were able to prove when and where most of the animals were killed and link this evidence in with several reports of poaching.
“We also received intelligence which helped establish Taylor was in areas at the relevant times.”
PC Ben Harrison said: “At the back of Taylor’s premises we found what was essentially a slaughterhouse for animals.
“Taylor clearly took pleasure out of his dogs torturing these animals.
“They were clearly being trained to get hold of these animals and rip them to shreds.
“The videos were gruesome and the sounds of the animals squealing in pain were horrible.
“In one particular video, while Taylor was filming one of these acts, he dropped his phone and it flipped over. He bent over to pick it up and it captured a full face shot of him. There was no question over who was doing the filming or who was the owner of these videos.”
The court heard Taylor had played a leading role in “sadistic behaviour” which was “prolonged and repeated” between August 2021 and February 2023.
Sentencing Taylor, Judge Mark Watson told him: “These offences cannot in any way be described as sport. This was a barbaric hobby of yours.
“This was planned activity by you and you clearly revelled in the suffering of these animals.
“You encouraged your dogs to attack these animals with ferocity and they suffered immeasurably.
“These were prolonged and repeated incidents of serious cruelty and examples of sadistic behaviour.”
Sentencing | jailed for two years and eight months. Banned from owning, keeping or participating in keeping dogs for at least seven years
CONVICTED (2024) | John Cameron Lindop, born 20 March 2000, of 7 Albion Hill, Epworth, Doncaster DN9 1HU* but with family links to Gainsborough, and Lucy Elizabeth Melrose, born 20 June 2000, of Hawthorne Road, Ferryhill DL17 9DP but originally from Gateshead – killed and burned a puppy and abused other animals in a campaign of horrific cruelty.
John Lindop and Lucy Melrose were convicted of a litany of cruelty offences against numerous animals including three dogs, one of whom was sadistically killed by one or both defendants, a chicken and a Shetland pony
John Lindop and Lucy Melrose committed a series of sickening offences against defenceless animals. These included killing a puppy and burning the remains, beating a second dog, riding a small lame pony, and setting a dog on a chicken while filming the carnage.
At the time the pair lived together in a flat in Fifth Street, Horden, County Durham.
It was said in court that the pair were in a tempestuous relationship and took out their frustrations on their pets.
Lurcher Max, who was described as subdued and withdrawn, had suffered injuries to his abdomen. He required treatment by the PDSA for muscular damage and other injuries
They appeared at Durham Crown Court on Friday 16 February 2024 and were given suspended prison sentences.
The crimes came to light following an RSPCA investigation led by Inspector Clare Wilson, which spanned two years and involved multiple animals.
The charity was first alerted to the couple in February 2022 when a member of the public contacted the RSPCA after bringing Max, a lurcher they had recently rehomed, into the PDSA Gateshead with injuries to his abdomen, and blood in his urine.
Inspector Clare Wilson said: “Max was very subdued and withdrawn, he was hanging his head and was attached to drips when I first saw him.
“I immediately noticed that his muzzle was very swollen as was his right side near his shoulder. There was blood visible in the white of his right eye too. I was told that he had been weeing blood.
“There was bruising visible on his abdomen and sheath and there were blood marks on his legs and I saw old scars on his rear legs near his feet. His nails were not scuffed as we would expect if he had been hit by a car so the vet told me that they thought he had been beaten or kicked.”
The member of the public who brought the dog into the vets had rehomed him from Melrose and Lindop the day before and she had brought the lurcher to the vets as soon as she realised he was injured.
Tally had inflammation of an ear which should have been treated by a vet
A vet report found Max had suffered blunt force trauma injuries, brought on by physical abuse.
The report said: “Max was bleeding from both nostrils which were dripping blood. He had soft tissue swelling around his left eye and bruising on his neck. He also had visible bruising and swelling on both sides of his ribs and thighs and heavy bruising on his abdomen. The injuries suffered by Max are consistent with low energy impacts, such as kicking, being hit by fists, or thrown from a few metres down or falling down the stairs.
“Out of each of these scenarios it is my opinion that being kicked is most likely due to the placement of all his injuries. In my opinion, he has been hit or kicked to the muzzle and kicked repeatedly – possibly multiple times to his abdomen as bruising and injuries were more extensive there.”
When interviewed, Melrose claimed that Lindop had, “kicked him like a football and stamped on his head.”
It was later revealed that during the investigation, the couple had hid other dogs from the RSPCA, including a lurcher called Bambi and a German Shepherd dog called Tally.
Melrose later showed these dogs to the RSPCA’s investigating officer. Tally was underweight and her right ear was crooked and inflamed with a severe ear infection.
Durham Crown Court heard how the vet found Tally suffered due to the ear condition which would have caused irritation and pain for at least 10 days or longer.
A report stated that the person responsible for Tally had failed to seek veterinary advice for her ear condition and therefore had failed in protecting her from pain and suffering.
During the investigation, Melrose’s phone was seized and found to contain shocking videos depicting more animal welfare offences. This included Bambi, a fawn coloured lurcher, being baited and set on a chicken. Lindop claimed Melrose was responsible for this but “accepted he found it funny at the time, but did not know if the chicken had died as he had gone to the chip shop”.
A video on Melrose’s phone showed her riding a lame Shetland pony called Dinky, who was much too small for her
A series of other videos on her phone showed Melrose riding a Shetland pony called Dinky who was struggling under the weight of carrying her and was clearly lame in one leg.
Analysis of the videos by a vet revealed: “The female was far too large for both the saddle and the pony and as a result her body overhangs the back and sides of the saddle. The female is carrying a whip in her right hand and trying to force the pony to trot forwards.”
The 16-second video showed her hitting the pony with a stick 10 times.
The pony tries to avoid having to move forward and only moves forward at a trot once she has been repeatedly smacked with the whip and this is due to the fear and pain of being hit. The mouth of the pony is often open due to her discomfort and the pony is visibly lame on the right forelimb.
Text messages between Lindop and his mother were also discovered in which Lindop asks “If a dog’s been hit and nearly dead am I not in the right to finish it off so it’s not in pain or does that mean I killed it?”.
With the reply: “She killed it, you put it out its misery but you would both get done as should have been done by a vet humanely.”
Lindop then replied to his mother: “Won’t find it now like coz burnt it (sic).”
The burned remains of Welsh herder puppy Hades were found on scrubland near a railway line in Horden, County Durham
The charred remains of Hades, a 12 week old Welsh Herder puppy, were also found close to a railway line in an area of scrubland in Hordon, Peterlee, where there were burnt patches on the ground and fragments of Hades’ bones were discovered by the RSPCA.
Lindop claimed in graphic detail that Melrose had killed him whilst Melrose told investigators that Lindop had “hung him from a door until he was brain dead.”
The prosecution said they were unable to say who killed Hades but the method of his death was “sadistic” and involved him being hung from a door and killed with a hammer.
Lindop, whom it was said in court is living with his family in Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, admitted two counts each of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and permitting or failing to stop unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Melrose admitted two counts each of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, and permitting or failing to stop unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, plus one of causing an animal fight to take place by baiting a chicken with a dog.
In mitigation, the court heard how the pair had challenging backgrounds and it was felt that rehabilitation is possible, given their young age.
Philip Morley, for Lindop, said he was, “not a sophisticated man”, having had “limited education” and is thought to suffer with an undiagnosed learning difficulty.
He said despite that, he has held down a variety of jobs and, “largely kept out of trouble”.
Mr Morley said at one stage Lindop formed a relationship with Melrose which he described as “toxic” and for which there is, now, no prospect of any reconciliation.
“It was clearly an unhealthy relationship for either party and not a good environment for those animals to be kept in.
“He’s deeply sorry and ashamed for what happened.
“The relationship got on top of him and he clearly took his eye off the ball.
“Both have now moved on and he has a new life in Gainsborough, working with his step-father in roofing and window cleaning.”
Mr Morley said, ironically, Lindop has a background of looking after animals and won a number of rosettes for training dogs in his younger days,
But he added that his client does not accept responsibility for the death of Hades, for which he has shown “genuine upset and remorse.”
Aspiring Only Fans skank Melrose shows off her tacky tattoos
Katie Spence, for Melrose, said her previous employment involved working with animals, but the entire experience of what went on during her relationship with Lindop has put her off any future involvement, regardless of the punishment and bars put on her by the court.
“She is extremely remorseful for any behaviour and wishes she had dome more than she did in these circumstances (to prevent it).”
Judge Peter Armstrong also mentioned mental health issues and commented that Lindop was now in a secure relationship with a baby on the way.
He said due to their age, their immaturity, and lack of previous offences, he was “just” able to suspend the inevitable prison sentences on both defendants.
He said, given the volatile relationship the pair were involved in, “I suspect you were taking out your frustrations on these animals in your welfare.”
He said he would not try to pinpoint who was primarily responsible for, “this catalogue of most unpleasant offending.”
Speaking about the case, RSPCA Inspector Clare Wilson, said: “This has been the most challenging case of my career so far and has been extremely distressing to investigate. It is clear that many animals suffered untold pain and mental torture at the hands of these defendants and I am immensely relieved that they will not be permitted to care for animals again for a long time.”
The RSPCA said Dinky was owned by a third party and is doing better now after recovering from her mistreatment. The dogs were brought into the care of RSPCA Felledge Animal Centre in Chester-le-Street where they have now been rehomed.
Sentencing | each were given 16-month prison sentences, suspended for two years. Both will undergo 40 days of rehabilitation and Lindop was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. Both were disqualified from keeping all animals for 15 years.
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.
CONVICTED (2024) | brothers Kristen Christopher Cooper, born 2 May 1999, and Todd James Edward Cooper, born c. 1994, of 24 Westbury Close, Bransgore, Christchurch BH23 8AZ* – tortured wild animals to death and filmed their agonies.
Sadistic brothers Kristen Cooper (left) and Todd Cooper
Career criminal brothers Kristen and Todd Cooper, who are gypsies, made a series of sick videos showing hares and deer being abused and mutilated.
During one depraved incident, the pair mutilated the genitalia of a deer – to the extent that officials could not tell if the animal was male and female – and stabbed another in the eye on camera, causing an ‘extreme level of suffering’.
In another twisted video they held a hare by his head and encouraged a dog to bite him.
A vet reviewing the videos as part of the investigation described the footage, filmed in 2021 and 2022, as the “worst case of animal abuse” he had seen in his 24-year career.
“These images will stay with me forever,” he said.
Other videos showed deer being dragged by their antlers having appeared to have suffered spinal injuries from possibly being hit by a car, with one piece of footage showing a man raising a wooden object above a helpless deer’s head as if he was going to strike it.
The brothers were caught after police seized a phone containing the shocking videos.
Kristen Cooper was charged with seven counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal with Todd Cooper being accused of one count.
But after appearing at the crown court for these offences and being released on bail, just days later the pair were apprehended again after attacking a mother and her son outside a Co-Op in Betsy Lane in Bransgore on March 4, 2023.
In a video shown in court, the pair can be seen with a third unknown man, ramming another car before getting out and attacking the vehicle with a catapult, a crowbar and a baseball bat.
The victims of the attack later gave evidence at trial with the mother saying she “genuinely believed they wanted to kill us”.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Stuart Ellacott said the animal abuse was “sadistic” adding that the animals were in “distress and suffering”.
Aleks Lloyd, defending Kristen – who has eight convictions for ten offences – said this is the first time his client has been in custody adding that he “appears to be getting his head down and getting on with it”.
Ruba Huleihel defending Todd, who has 24 convictions for 52 offences, said her client has ADHD and was exposed to violence from a very young age.
Judge Peter Henry sentenced the pair for a variety of offences committed in the New Forest and in Dorset, including actual bodily harm, criminal damage and threatening a person with an offensive weapon.
He said: “One would have thought that both of you being brought up in the New Forest you would have had more respect for such defenceless creatures.
“It was being filmed, other people were present and other people seemed to find it all very amusing.”
Both men were given restraining orders banning them from ever contacting the mother and son they attacked ever again.
This image shows the Cooper brothers and an as yet unidentified accomplice participating in hare coursing, a cruel sport in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and turn a hare
Police Constable Sebastian Haggett, of Dorset Police’s Rural Crime Team – who led the case alongside Hampshire police – said after the sentencing: “These are without doubt some of the most horrifying offences I have ever investigated.”
Angharad Thomas, Senior Crown Prosecutor with CPS Wessex, said: “The level of cruelty displayed in this case is beyond comprehension and the brothers showed an inexplicable disregard for the welfare of these animals peacefully existing in the wild.
“An expert witness for the prosecution described the actions of Kristen and Todd Cooper as the worst case of animal abuse they had ever come across in their 24-year veterinary career.
“The CPS welcomes today’s sentence and hopes it sends a clear message that we will continue to work with the police to bring offenders of these disturbing crimes to justice.”
Sentencing | Kristen Cooper: jailed for five years; 10-year criminal behaviour order. Banned from owning a dog for ten years. Todd Cooper- jailed for three years and eight months.
CONVICTED (2023) | Lucas Slim-Fitzpatrick born 6 November 1996, most recently of Regent Street, Weston-super-Mare but with links to Plymouth, Saltash, Taunton and Wolverhampton – subjected an bull-breed puppy to a catalogue of violence.
Slim-Fitzpatrick, who promotes himself on TikTok as a mental health expert and also likes to showcase his ‘kindness’ to homeless people, was prosecuted by the RSPCA for assaulting and neglecting the 10-month-old bull-breed called Luna in Plymouth between June 1 and December 1, 2022,
He pleaded guilty to three offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on December 7, 2023.
He inflicted “blunt force trauma, physical violence and multiple injuries of a non-accidental nature”.
Luna was repeatedly beaten and suffered multiple fractures during her time with sadistic Lucas Slim-Fitpatrick
He also failed to take steps to ensure the needs of Luna were met by not protecting her from “pain, suffering and injury and disease” and failed to provide “proper and necessary veterinary care and attention” for her injuries.
A vet who examined Luna said the dog had suffered blunt force trauma injuries in at least three separate incidents.
The RSPCA was shown doorbell footage from November 30, 2022 which showed Slim-Fitzpatrick riding his electric scooter in Mutley. while holding onto the lead of the dog, who was trying to follow behind.
A witness who contacted the police said he heard an animal in distress at the back of Slim-Fitzpatrick’s former address in Greenbank Road in Plymouth minutes later, the RSPCA said.
The court was told the witness saw Slim-Fitzpatrick “staggering around” on the scooter while talking aggressively to the dog before picking her up with both hands and throwing her six feet in the direction of a wall. He was later arrested.
When he was interviewed by police in December 2022, the defendant claimed Luna’s injuries – a broken left hip and pelvis, fractured jaw, cheekbone and wrists, three broken ribs, three broken teeth and a bloodshot eye – were caused by Luna being hit by a car and kicked by a horse.
He said her bloodshot eye was the result of her being attacked by a Jack Russell dog.
But RSPCA prosecutor Gregory Gordon told the court: “Expert veterinary evidence disproved the defendant’s various claims of accidental injury to Luna. For example, if she had been struck by a vehicle, there would have been evidence of skin abrasions or lacerations, and grit or oil in her hair.
“Radiographs indicated Luna’s different fractures were at different stages of healing, meaning that the injuries occurred on different dates. It has not been possible to identify the number of separate incidents from the injuries alone, but records indicate that injuries were sustained by Luna on at least three separate occasions, including June 29 and August 2 last year.”
On both of these dates, the defendant had been in contact with vets. However, in June 2022 he declined the vet’s recommendation that Luna undergo surgery for wrist fractures, citing the cost. He then failed to attend appointments to rebandage her wounds, instead using a pencil and sock as a homemade splint.
In August he phoned the vet to report Luna was eating painfully, but then failed to keep an appointment.
When RSPCA Inspector Miranda Albison attempted to make contact with the defendant in March and July this year to interview him about the allegations, he claimed he did not have a fixed address, but that he was staying with a friend in Birmingham.
In a statement read to the court, the inspector said: “The defendant said he was aware the RSPCA had been visiting his address, but that he was not prepared to be interviewed.
“I told him Luna was still in our care as he had not responded to my request to confirm we could rehome her. He became angry and said he thought he had already given permission and the dog was no longer anything to do with him.”
In mitigation, the court was told Slim-Fitzpatrick had experienced a troubled background and had spent time in the care system.
A judge said he had shown little remorse for his actions and told him: “This was prolonged, lengthy violence towards an animal in your care who should have been protected by you rather than becoming your punchbag.”
Luna was signed into the care of the RSPCA on July 5, 2023. The charity said she had recovered from her ‘horrific’ ordeal in their care. She was rehomed after undergoing surgery and extensive rehabilitation work to regain the use of her back leg.
Speaking after the sentencing, inspector Albison said: “The assaults carried out by this defendant on this poor dog started when she was a 10-week old puppy and continued until she was 10 months old. It was absolutely horrific as she was repeatedly beaten and suffered many fractures.
“Luna had surgery on her femoral head and that saved her back leg as the other option was amputation. Happily she is now doing very well and we have been able to rehome her.
“Without being provided with the Ring Doorbell footage by a member of the public we wouldn’t have been able to prosecute the defendant as he denied being in that area of Plymouth at the time of the assault allegation.”
Sentencing | 14-month custodial sentences to run concurrently on each of the three animal welfare offences and a further five-month prison sentence, to be served consecutively, for his breach of a suspended sentence imposed for an unrelated matter. Banned from owning animals for 20 years.
CONVICTED (2023) | Peter Paul Toland, born 15 March 1994, of 35 Cornshell Fields, Londonderry BT48 7UG* – beat his dog and buried her as she lay dying.
Peter Toland’s dog, Luna (pictured), was found barely alive by a member of the public having suffered multiple injuries, including broken teeth and broken bones.
On March 15, 2023, the American bulldog known as Luna, was brought to a veterinary clinic by police officers after she was found partially buried and under a stone by a member of the public in Ballyarnett Country Park.
Luna was humanely put down due to the extent of her injuries. A post-mortem examination found she was severely underweight, weighing just 19kg.
She had a facial haematoma as well as fractures which had been caused by blunt force. These were recent, possibly only hours old, and had been caused by a wide object.
Her ears were packed with mud which had been forced into her ears.
She had a body mass of two out of nine, meaning she was severely emaciated with no muscle mass present. Her canine teeth were broken and her pulse was exposed.
The dog was put to sleep on humane grounds.
The judge said Toland’s treatment of Luna amounted to “extreme” cruelty and she had suffered months of abuse and neglect before she was brutally killed.
In his police interview Toland said he’d owned the dog for two years. He said he’d gone to Donegal on March 15 and when he returned home he noticed Luna was missing.
Toland told the police Luna had “dropped a full litter of pups the previous October” but said that he’d never taken the dog to a veterinary clinic nor registered any of his dogs with any clinic.
Dog killer: Peter Toland is banned from keeping animals for life
When the police searched Toland’s home they found three other dogs in the enclosed rear garden. There was no water for them, bedding was inadequate, and the yard contained a considerable amount of faeces.
The prosecutor said Toland told the police Luna had never run away before and that he’d searched for her for one hour after he’d discovered she was missing.
Defence barrister Eoghan Devlin said there was “absolutely no doubt Toland is a terrible owner of animals” but he submitted that the prosecution had failed to prove its case that the defendant had buried the dog alive.
The barrister said the police had failed to properly investigate the incident. They’d neither looked for CCTV footage nor organised an identity line-up for the member of the public who’d found the dog and who had seen two men at the scene.
The District Judge said either the dog got out of the back yard and somebody partially buried her or somebody took the dog from the back yard and did it.
“It is appalling and despicable that this animal was found as it was found. To think that somebody could bury the animal alive is just incomprehensible.
“No person with the slightest shred of decency would do that. But somebody did it, either a person or persons unknown did that, or the dog somehow got out for the first time and then somebody did this to the dog.
“This animal was in an appalling state of health. It was emaciated, there was no muscle mass, it had broken canine teeth, puncture wounds and facial fractures that was the result of blunt trauma with a wide object.
“This animal had suffered a prolonged period of suffering, months long, and that is squarely at the door of the defendant. He took no steps to have the dog treated, no steps to take it to a vet. He took no steps to deal with a severely emaciated dog, he is guilty”, said Mr Magill.
After jailing Toland, who has 46 previous criminal convictions, for nine months, the judge granted a defence application for leave to appeal the sentence and released the defendant on continuing bail.
Sentencing | nine months in jail. Banned from keeping animals for life.
*alternative address: 84 Bloomfield Park, Londonderry BT48 8HB. This is the home of his parents, Clare and Paul Toland, but word on the street is that this is where he’s hiding out.
Update | 8 January 2024
Toland was finally jailed after his appeal over a nine month sentence was dismissed in court.
The sentence amounts to 30% of the maximum available to the court with Toland expected to serve half of that sentence behind bars.
After Toland had spent 25 days on bail, his solicitor asked asked Judge Neil Rafferty KC at Bishop’s Street County Court to dismiss the appeal.
The appeal was dismissed and Toland’s previous sentence was affirmed and he started his nine month jail term today.
A friend of Toland’s, Liam Glennon, was initially implicated alongside him after several witnesses said they saw the pair together on 15 March 2023 near to where Luna was found.
Peter Toland with fellow wildlife persecutor Liam GlennonGlennon posts sick images showing foxes being mauled to death by dogs on social media
Glennon, who like Toland enjoys persecuting wildlife, denied the allegations and it appears that case against him did not proceed.
CONVICTED | serial violent animal abuser Dominic John Callum Jackson aka Dominic Holmes, born 15 October 1997, of Cotswold Terrace, Stanley DH9 6QH – for attacks on multiple pets, causing serious or fatal injuries, while neglecting and starving others; others suffered horrendous neglect and starvation at the home shared with co-defendant Laura Louise Smith, born c. 1992.
Sadistic serial pet abuser Dominic Jackson is disqualified from keeping animals for life while gormless partner Laura Smith, who also goes by the names Laura Jackson or Laura Holmes, only received a one-year ban
Monstrous Dominic Jackson pleaded guilty to inflicting blunt force trauma and physical violence on his pets after he was prosecuted by the RSPCA following reports that he had been seen kicking cats.
Peterlee Magistrates’ Court heard how inspectors from the charity had visited the home of Jackson and Smith on January 28, 2023, to find a number of animals – some of whom were underweight – living in poor conditions.
In her evidence, inspector Rowena Proctor, who attended the property with her colleague Heidi Cleaver, said: “The living room smelled strongly of cat urine and was unclean throughout with very dirty litter trays.
Several of the cats appeared to be very underweight with ribs and pelvis felt with ease. One cat in particular was of major concern.
“I spotted her lying on the top of a corner unit which was around 7.5 feet (2.2 metres) tall and she appeared to be deceased. I was eventually able to reach up far enough to get hold of the cat who thankfully was still alive but appeared weak and lethargic.
“Her name was Missy and she was the skinniest of all of the cats. Our concerns relating to the animal’s weights were explained and following discussion with myself and inspector Cleaver, all cats were put into carriers and removed from the property.”
The animals – five cats called Missy, Toby, Tabby, Felix and Simba, and a crested gecko called Bumblebee – were taken straight for veterinary treatment and later seized by the police as evidence. The vet said all of the cats were suffering and four of them were too thin, although they all made good weight gains with appropriate care in the weeks that followed.
Veterinary notes seen by the RSPCA during the investigation revealed how other pets previously belonging to Jackson – a guinea pig; a ferret; three cats called Tibby, BamBam and Bambi; a black terrier type puppy called Lulu and one unknown species of animal – had also sustained injuries or died without explanation or veterinary intervention.
Tibby was found to have sustained a broken back leg after reportedly falling off the bed when alone in the bedroom with Jackson and died. A ferret called Maggie and a guinea pig were said to have been found dead in their cages by Jackson, who claimed other cats had fallen down the stairs or been found dead behind the sofa. Lulu had suffered a head trauma but has since been rehomed by the RSPCA.
The court heard how Jackson had admitted punching Toby with a closed fist after he’d eaten another cat’s food, resulting in the cat having to have his eye removed. He also said he had slapped Missy and Felix, but could offer no explanation as to why other animals had unexpectedly got injured or died.
Another vet who gave evidence as part of the case, said none of the animals were reported to have sustained accidental injuries such as road traffic accidents or falling from a significant height.
“In my opinion, Missy, Toby, Felix, Simba and Tabby have all been caused to suffer as a consequence of physical abuse,” he said.
“Suffering will have been experienced by these animals via mechanisms of fear, distress and pain for variable periods of time.
“In my opinion it is highly likely that the dog made known as Lulu was also caused to suffer as a consequence of physical abuse, although the details of the circumstances surrounding the injuries to this dog are not sufficient to draw this conclusion with surety.”
Most of the animals removed from the property on January 28 were signed over to the RSPCA during the course of the investigation and have since been rehomed by the charity. A deprivation order made by the court will ensure any that still remain – or have been brought since – must be handed over and will be rehomed.
Jackson was given eight weeks’ custody, suspended for two years, on each of the three offences to run concurrently. He was also given a lifetime disqualification order on keeping animals.
In mitigation, he told the court he was vulnerable and suffering from poor mental health and repeatedly claimed that someone else was responsible for coming into the house and harming the animals.
In September 2023, Laura Smith pleaded guilty to one offence contrary to the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and received a conditional discharge and one-year ban.
Speaking after the conclusion of the court hearing, inspector Proctor said: “This was an extremely upsetting and disturbing investigation as it became clear during the course of our enquiries that a large number of animals had suffered neglect and deliberate cruelty at the hands of Jackson. He had a duty of care towards his pets but instead inflicted violence and injuries.”
Sentencing | Dominic Jackson: eight-week custodial suspended for two years for each of the three offences to run concurrently; £360 in costs and a victim surcharge of £154. Banned from keeping animals for life. Laura Smith: 12-month conditional discharge. One-year ban which expires September 2024.
CONVICTED (2023) | Nathan Thompson, born 1994, of Melbreak Avenue, Cleator Moor CA25 – killed a young border collie after weeks of systematic abuse.
Neighbours heard Nathan Thompson beat his dog, causing her distress and to yelp in pain and cry.
Thompson mistreated the puppy, known as Daisy, so badly that she eventually died. He then tried to cover his tracks by setting a fierce fire, inside a metal bin.
Carlisle Crown Court heard Thompson had brought home the dog shortly after moving into the terraced property in 2022.
But throughout the late summer, neighbours heard sounds of the puppy being abused.
Neighbours reported Thompson had regularly beaten Daisy causing her distress and to yelp in pain and cry.
This included incidents of grabbing her by the scruff and banging her against the cage causing injury. These assaults increased in frequency in the lead up to her death.
“Thuds and crashes followed by the distressing noises of the animal crying in pain. This went on for night after night,” said prosecutor Andrew Evans.
Neighbours had described their deep distress at hearing banging, shouting and hearing the dog cry in pain “all the time”.
One woman would sit on her back doorstep crying because the dog was being beaten.
Thompson was seen to grab the puppy around her neck before dragging and pushing her head down into the grass, and also to hose her down while she was tied up.
The noises of beating became more frequent and “most days” there would be a “bang and a yelp”.
“It is the Crown’s case that the defendant, in rage and anger, repeatedly beat Daisy over the final few months of her life, and that the beatings she received, either with punches, kicks or the use of the metal cage door, caused the puppy distress and injury,” said Mr Evans.
Daisy had died at an unknown time on September 5, 20222, the court heard.
“Later that day the defendant placed her corpse into a large metal bin in his back garden,” added the prosecutor.
“Using an unknown accelerant he set a fierce fire which destroyed the body to such an extent that the veterinary post-mortem was unable to determine the exact cause of her death when, two days later, neighbours found the remains of the body and alerted the police.”
Thompson admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
He had claimed that Daisy escaped and war un over but this version of events was dismissed by a judge who heard evidence, including harrowing accounts from neighbours who had sought to intervene.
Recorder Julian Shaw imposed an immediate 27-month jail term, describing Thompson’s criminal conduct as “cruelty” and “sadistic” having used “significant force.
“What greater harm could there be to that animal than you killed it?” he wondered.
And of the brutal treatment meted out by Thompson, Recorder Shaw said to him: “You must have known, day after day after day what you were doing was grotesque.”
CONVICTED (2023) | Dudley Payne, born 27 August 1994, of Braintree Avenue, Penwortham, Preston PR1 9UN – tortured a puppy to death.
On September 1, 2023, Dudley Payne was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to the 11-week-old American bully puppy after a four-day trial at Preston Crown Court.
He was back in court for sentencing on Friday, 20 October.
Rocko was subjected to a litany of sadistic abuse at the hands of Dudley Payne and eventually succumbed to his injuries
During the trial, the jury heard that the RSPCA was contacted by a vet after the puppy, known as Rocko, was taken in dead on arrival on February 2, 2022.
The puppy, who had died 12 hours earlier, was taken to a vet with multiple non-accidental injuries
A post-mortem examination showed a number of non-accidental injuries including cigarette burns, head trauma and an eyeball prolapsed from the socket.
The puppy’s injuries included head trauma and a prolapsed eyeball
Rocko had been seen at the vet three days before for his vaccinations and was reported to be bright, alert and responsive.
In a statement read in court, RSPCA inspector Emma Dingley said: “The vet received the post-mortem results back and immediately contacted the RSPCA. He told me on the phone it was the worst post-mortem examination report he had ever read.”
Inspector Dingley contacted Payne, who confirmed he had owned Rocko for six days and bought him from a breeder named George Wilson.
When interviewed by inspector Dingley, Payne answered no comment to all questions.
A vet who gave evidence in court said Rocko’s injuries suggested “intentional harm”.
Cigarette burns were found on the puppy’s groin
The puppy had a ruptured liver, head trauma, a partial hip fracture and abrasions consistent with being scratched by fingernails.
He also had cigarette burns to his groin area and injuries to his abdomen, and lacerations to his liver and had inhaled the contents of his stomach.
Rocko’s heart also showed signs of having a massive rush of adrenaline before he died, showing the pup was terrified.
When the vet saw the results of the post mortem, he made a report to the RSPCA, and Payne was charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
In a statement read in court at the trial, RSPCA inspector Emma Dingley said: ‘The vet received the postmortem results back and immediately contacted the RSPCA.
‘He told me on the phone it was the worst postmortem examination report he had ever read.’
Payne denied the offence, claiming Rocko was in poor health when he collected him from Mr Wilson, and needed ‘a bit of love’.
Payne’s defence said in court that Rocko’s injuries were caused by his owner while he was trying to do CPR on him, however this was disproved in court by the vet giving evidence.
The court heard that further enquiries were made with George Wilson, who confirmed he sold the puppy to Payne, adding that he was the biggest of the litter and very healthy when he left.
According to Wilson, Payne told him he had left the puppy alone with his five-year-old son while he went to the shop and thought the child must have injured the puppy.
Handing down a custodial sentencing of two years and nine months, the Honorary Recorder of Preston, Judge Robert Altham, said: ‘The only conclusion I can draw is that you tortured that dog to death. He must have died in agony and terror.
‘You have shown no remorse. I am driven to the appalling conclusion you did it to him because you enjoyed it.’
Speaking after the hearing, inspector Dingley said: ‘I will never be able to comprehend what happened to Rocko and why such a young animal was treated in such a cruel way.
‘This investigation will stay with me forever, but I’m pleased that we were able to get some justice for this little puppy, and I think the long custodial sentence reflects the gravity of this case.’
Sentencing | sent to prison for two years and nine months. Banned from keeping animals for 15 years.
