CONVICTED (2023) | cock-fighter Douglas Rufus Price, born 22 May 1984, of Valley Farm, Low Lane, Clayton, Bradford BD14 6QA – kept 22 underweight hens and cockerels in makeshift pens without food and water and suffering from fighting injuries.
Bradford farmer Douglas Price aka Dougieboy Price was convicted of animal neglect and cockfighting offences
West Yorkshire Police and the RSPCA attended the working farm in February 2022 and found the birds in makeshift pens, many without food and water. Some were suffering from feather-loss and injuries consistent with fighting.
Seized mobile phone footage later revealed that Price was keeping and training the birds to fight.
The RSPCA found a number of underweight hens and cockerels kept in pens without food and water and suffering from fighting injuries.
RSPCA inspector Demi Hodby, who investigated for the animal charity, said: “All of the birds at the site appeared to be underweight with feather loss on their chest and the majority of them were bald in this area.
“On closer observation, a number of the cockerels had injuries and all appeared to have had their combs cut.
“There was a limited amount of food and water provided in each pen and some had no provisions at all.
“Inside one of the wooden pens there was a hen which was unable to bear weight on one of her legs.
“Inside the metal pen there was a cockerel which was limping and had a swollen leg and inside a shed there was another hen which was also limping.
“Due to the number of animal welfare concerns, I contacted a vet immediately who confirmed to me that a number of these birds would have been suffering.”
The vet found that a total of 14 hens and cockerels were in a state of neglect and some had been caused unnecessary suffering.
One dead cockerel was located at the scene, and sadly three birds were subsequently put to sleep on the advice of the vet to end their suffering.
Ian Muttitt, chief inspector for the RSPCA’s special operations unit (SOU), said: “I have investigated cockfighting offences for a number of years and reviewed hours of footage relating to this crime and it was very clear to me that several sequences of the footage obtained from Price’s mobile phone depicted cockfight sparring sessions.
“It was clear to me that the person responsible for these birds has an unhealthy interest in cockfighting and was keeping and training these birds for the purpose of animal fighting.”
Seized mobile phone footage later revealed that Price, who has links to the travelling community, was keeping and training birds to fight
In mitigation, the court heard that Price is illiterate, with no formal education, and is also the sole carer for his children and grandchildren.
The surviving birds were taken into the RSPCA’s care and were subsequently rehomed.
Sentencing | nine-month custodial suspended for 18 months; 20 rehabilitation activity days; 100 hours of unpaid work; £128 victim surcharge and £400 in costs. Disqualified from keeping hens and cockerels for 12 months (expires September 2024).
CONVICTED (2022) | farmer Jack William Haskell, born 29 May 1998, of Newport Dairy Cottages, Bloxworth, Wareham BH20 7EF – goaded a lurcher dog into attacking and killing a fox and filmed cockerel fights.
Father-of-one Haskell will only be allowed to keep sheep dogs after he filmed two fights between cockerels and also encouraged the dog to attack the fox, saying “get on” and “good boy”.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of being at an animal fight and one count of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, all at Stokeford Farm in Wareham.
Prosecuting, Jason Spelman told the court the matters came to light when police attended Haskell’s address for a separate matter.
Officers seized Haskell’s phone and found three videos, two clips of cockerels fighting from March 15, 2020 and April 6, 2020, and one of the lurcher dog attacking a fox on April 13, 2020.
Mr Spelman said the fox was “clearly” trying to defend itself with the “fox on its back and the dog in the neck area”.
“You can hear the person saying ‘get on’ and ‘good boy’,” Mr Spelman told the court.
The prosecutor said Haskell failed to prevent the dog, a protected animal, from coming to harm and said the fox was killed.
The video, which was played in court, shows the dog biting the fox’s neck and jumping on top of it.
He added cock fighting had been banned in this country for 185 years and it was “obvious” the birds came to harm.
When interviewed by police, Haskell claimed someone else had used his phone to film the cock fighting videos and the dog which attacked the fox didn’t come to any harm.
He claimed he didn’t encourage the dog to attack the fox, however Mr Spelman said the video was filmed at 4am which was a “odd time” to be there by accident.
Mitigating, Clive Rees told Magistrates Haskell said the fox ran off and the defendant had “matured” since the offending two years ago.
He said Haskell has taken over the hands-on running of the farm from his ill father and needed to own sheep dogs for the business.
Sentencing | criminal behaviour order; ordered to pay a total of £1,338 in fine, costs and charges. Banned from owning dogs, apart from sheep dogs, or any cockerels for ten years.
CONVICTED (2022) | Gerald John Hughes, born c. 1972, of 37 Mistover Road, Wareham BH20 4BZ – participated in cruel cock fights and trapped a wild bird.
Hughes
Hughes, a gypsy and persistent criminal with previous convictions for vehicle theft, ,shoplifting and driving without insurance, was prosecuted by the RSPCA after the charity was sent video clips showing a crowd gathered around fighting cockerels in a garden.
The RSPCA launched an investigation, which included executing a warrant alongside police in July 2021.
Officers reportedly observed a number of birds within an aviary, including a small brown bird, known as a Linnet, that officers suspected had been trapped from the wild and placed in captivity.
The wild Linnet was examined by a vet who specialises in birds, an RSPCA spokesperson said. They reportedly found the feathering on both wings was very poor and the bird’s tail was in an a bad condition, with the remains of only one feather. There was also damage to the bird’s jaw and loss of feathers to the sides of the beak, it was reported.
After seeing the footage of the cockfight, Mike Butcher, a retired RSPCA Inspector who worked for the charity for more than 40 years, said: “Cockfighting can cause very serious injuries and death, as the intention is for one cockerel to win by killing its opponent using beak, wings and particularly the hard natural spur.
“Cockerels are naturally aggressive and do not need much encouragement to attack another cockerel when the two are faced together; no matter where they are.”
Hughes pleaded guilty to being present at an animal fight and possessing a live wild bird.
RSPCA inspector Miranda Albinson, who helped investigate for the animal welfare charity, said: “Cockfighting is an abhorrent and cruel practice which was outlawed almost 200 years ago. During fights, cockerels are placed into a pit where they face off, cheered on by a jeering crowd.
“To take enjoyment from watching two birds inflict such horrendous – and often life-threatening – injuries on each other is something that should be well and truly confined to the history books.”
Sentencing: two-year conditional discharge; £222 in costs and charges. 10-year disqualification from keeping birds, but can appeal after five years.
CONVICTED (2021) | Michael Andrew Hawkswell, born c. 1975, of Haldgarth, Nunwick, Ripon HG4 5EE – a serial animal abuser with a string of convictions for offences including barbaric illegal slaughter.
2021 police mugshot of Michael Hawkswell
Hawkswell’s first known conviction was in or around 2001 when he abandoned a lorry-load of live turkeys on the A1, leaving them to freeze to death. For this offence he was apparently jailed but no details are available.
Two years later, in February 2003, Hawkswell was jailed alongside another man, Isap Lakha of 122 Saville Road, Dewsbury WF12 9LP after the pair were found to be running an illegal slaughter operation at the height of the foot and mouth crisis.
Hawkswell pictured outside court in 2003 along with co-defendant Isap Lakha.
An undercover investigator from the Hillside Animal Sanctuary in East Anglia began investigating the men after a tip-off. Working in conjunction with the RSPCA, the charity obtained secret video footage showing Hawkswell and Lakha killing 10 goats with a blunt knife in a dirty barn in Londonderry, North Yorkshire, causing the animals immense pain and suffering.
RSPCA prosecutor Tony Kelbrick told the court that the video showed the goats were dismembered and butchered “while they appeared to be still alive”.
Still image from horrific video footage which showed Hawkswell and Isap Lakha sawing at animals’ throats with a blunt knife.
He said the animals were being killed in the Halal way but the method used was “inept, clumsy and cruel and caused considerable pain and suffering”.
“It can clearly be seen on the video that a number of cuts were required to sever the arteries and veins and a sawing motion was required as opposed to a clean cut.”
The court heard how the goats were bought at a market in Haswell, Durham, before they were taken to North Yorkshire for slaughter on 14 January 2002.
The hearing was also told how Lakha bought the animal carcasses for about £200 after the slaughter.
He said the meat was to help feed his large extended family which included about 150 people.
However, a 2002 article by now defunct newspaper the Sunday People had already exposed Hawkswell as a “crooked trader” who sold “infected meat to scores of curry shops”. Aside from risking an outbreak of foot and mouth disease and BSE (the human form of mad cow disease), the newspaper described how he made “animals suffer shockingly by letting buyers try their hand at slaughtering in his makeshift abattoir”.
In court, Hawkswell admitted allowing goats he owned to be cruelly ill-treated and also allowing premises to be used as a slaughterhouse without a licence.
His co-defendant, Lakha – a retired slaughterman with 20 years’ experience – pleaded guilty to cruelly ill-treating 10 goats and slaughtering the animals without a licence.
District judge Roy Anderson said the offences were so serious he had no option but to jail the men.
He told the pair the botched operation was “inept, callous, squalid and cruel”.
Hawkswell received a four-month prison sentence while Lakha was jailed for two months. Both were banned from keeping animals for 10 years (ban expired 2013).
Writing about their investigation, Hillside Sanctuary told how Michael Hawkswell had boasted to their covert investigator how he could supply cows, lambs, goats, deer, pigeons and even peacocks. He gloated that most of the animals were stolen from farms late at night.
Hawkswell had also bragged about breeding cockerels for fighting.
Happily, Hillside were able to rescue five nanny goats (pictured) from a horrible death and took them into the care of the sanctuary.
In 2010 Hawkswell was banned from keeping animals for ten years and jailed for six months after livestock was found in squalid conditions. No further details of this conviction are available.
In December 2013 Hawkswell was back in court after repeatedly breaching his animal banning order.
The court heard how trading standards officers visited premises in Thorpe Underwood, between York and Boroughbridge and discovered that Hawkswell had been moving sheep.
Paperwork found in a stolen trailer revealed he had been to a slaughterhouse in Spennymoor.
Hawkswell admitted handling stolen goods and breaching an animal banning order, and was given a suspended prison sentence.
Judge Les Spittle described his actions as “a blatant disregard” for court orders, and also ordered him to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work for the community.
Stuart Young, mitigating, said his client had “struggled to do what the courts tell him” adding that he had “shown poor problem-solving techniques.”
Hawkswell pictured in 2017
In February 2017 Hawkswell was jailed for six months after breaching a court order to protect animals from him. His latest conviction came after his vehicle was stopped by North Yorkshire Police and found to contain cardboard boxes holding 14 live chickens and a duck. A few months later Hawkswell was stopped again by road traffic police and this time officers found a sheep, two hens, two pigeons and four dead turkeys.
On both occasions Hawkswell was arrested and subsequently charged.
Sergeant Kevin Kelly, from North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce, said that Hawkswell was “a danger to animals”.
In May 2021 Hawkswell, still disqualified from keeping or owning animals, was charged with possessing 76 birds and a string of other offences.
They included buying and transporting two goats, possessing seven sheep in his trailer, possessing a duck, unloading poultry from a vehicle into sale pens at Highgate auctions in Rotherham and buying and selling poultry.
In September 2021 Hawkswell was jailed for a total of 32 weeks after pleading guilty to all charges.
The court also disqualified Hawkswell from owning or keeping goats, poultry, birds and sheep for a period of 10 years under the Animal Welfare Act.
Hawkswell was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 16 months.
Speaking after the sentencing, PC Mark Atkinson, of North Yorkshire Police’s rural task force, said:
“Michael Hawkswell knew full well that he wasn’t allowed to have anything to do with animals – with a court order in place to protect them from suffering at his hands.
“However, he has repeatedly shown a blatant disregard for that court order, and persistently breached it on a number of occasions.
“Members of the farming community were aware of Hawkswell’s illegal activity, and came forward with crucial information, allowing us to arrest him and put him before the court. I would like to thank everyone who has spoken to the police in relation to Hawkswell’s activities – your assistance has been so vital and helped our team to put the strongest case together.”
North Yorkshire Police said it would now distribute posters highlighting Hawkswell’s banning order at livestock marts and other rural businesses.
Sentencing (September 2021 conviction): 32 weeks in jail. Disqualified from having anything to do with poultry, goats, sheep or birds for ten years (expires September 2031).
CONVICTED (2021) | Robert Marshall Morrison, born 20 August 1982, of 5 Atchin Tan, Low Harker, Carlisle CA6 4DD – kept 69 chickens and cockerels in poor living conditions
Gypsy Robert Morrison kept dozens of chickens in small ‘filthy’ runs and cast dead ones aside ‘like rubbish’
Scottish gypsy Morrison, who has links to Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, originally faced accusations that he was breeding and keeping cockerels for the purpose of animal fights. He was also accused of having cock-fight equipment – including ‘wound powder’, muscle ointments, suturing needles and syringes, and vitamin supplements. Ultimately though he was only convicted of neglect, following a three-day trial.
The RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit (SOU) launched an investigation into Morrison in 2019 and found he was visiting an allotment in Glasson, Lancashire, to tend to a number of cockerels being kept there.
In October 2019, the charity worked with Cumbria Police to execute three warrants at Morrison’s home, his vehicle and the allotment where he kept the birds, around a 40-minute drive from his address. He was arrested after officers found 69 birds – some emaciated and all being kept in filthy conditions – at the allotment site.
RSPCA SOU officer Kirsty Withnall, who investigated, said: “Many of the birds had inadequate access to food and water, and were being kept in completely unsuitable conditions; in wet, muddy, dirty runs and pens.
Some of the birds were being kept in small, cramped spaces with no enrichment; they were pacing up and down and circling due to boredom.
“We found the dead bodies of birds hidden inside a blue bin while other remains were decomposing on a nearby rubbish tip. They’d been cast aside like rubbish.”
Morrison admitted ownership and responsibility for the birds.
All of the birds were examined by a vet, seized by police either because they were suffering or their needs were not being met, and taken into the RSPCA’s care. One cockerel was taken to a local vet but, sadly, later died.
The others – 17 hens and the remaining all cockerels – were taken into private boarding where they have remained while the investigation progressed.
A Cumbria Police spokesperson said: “We welcome the outcome of this investigation. This behaviour is unacceptable and we will continue to work in partnership with the RSPCA and other agencies to stop this type of unnecessary suffering.”
Sentencing: 15-month community order, 200 hours of unpaid work and a 15-day rehabilitation order; £1,500 costs and victim surcharge of £90. He was legally deprived of all of his birds, meaning they can now be rehomed by the RSPCA. Disqualified from keeping birds for seven years.
CONVICTED (2020) | John Benjamin Cook, born 13/11/1993, and his brother William Cook, born 11/07/1989, both of Little Acres, Longfield Avenue, New Barn, Longfield, Dartford DA3 7LA – ran a puppy farm alongside a cock-fighting ring
Dogs and puppies were kept in deplorable conditions at a puppy farm operated by William Cook (left) and his brother John. The pair also hosted cruel cock-fights for other gypsies.
Gypsy travellers John and William Cook were convicted of a number of animal welfare offences.
In July 2018 RSPCA officers executed a warrant at the sprawling property in New Barn the brothers share with their extended family, including wives, children and parents, after a member of the public who had bought puppies from them raised concerns.
Deplorable conditions at the puppy farm operated by gypsy brothers William and John Cook from New Barn, Longfield, Kent
In total, 18 dogs, including spaniels and beagles were removed along with two cockerels.
Officers also seized a number of mobile phones from the site and a suspecting cock-fighting pit was uncovered. Analysis of the mobiles showed the brothers were involved with fighting and later forensics tests found the blood of at least four cockerels on the pit.
During the four-day trial the court heard how John Cook was accused of causing suffering to a number of dogs, failing to provide them with vet care for stomach and teeth problems and keeping them in unsuitable conditions.
William Cook, who is now banned from keeping all animals for three years. His equally twisted brother is only banned from keeping dogs.
William Cook was accused of a number of offences relating to cockerel fighting.
John Cook pleaded guilty to the offences, while William Cook was convicted of the offences under the Animal Welfare Act.
RSPCA inspector Carroll Lamport, from the charity’s special operations unit, said: “Many of the dogs being kept at the site had health and welfare problems, including untreated gastrointestinal and dental issues.
William Cook is a leading member of a cock-fighting ring. Here, he is pictured with brother-in-law, Owen Lee
“We also had serious concerns over the conditions they were being kept in. The dogs and puppies were being kept in dirty, wet conditions with no bedding.”
Sentencing: William Cook – 120-day prison term – suspended for two years. Ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. Disqualified from keeping any animals for three years.
John Cook – 90 days in prison – also suspended for two years; 160 hours of unpaid work. He was disqualified from keeping dogs for three years.
Bans expire February 2023.
Both men were ordered to pay £1,000 in costs plus a £115 victim surcharge.
#MostEvil | gypsy traveller James Eli Lloyd Goddard, born 6 June 1991, of Mayles Close, Fareham PO17 5NF – beat a cockerel to death with a metal skewer as others filmed him.
In a horrendous attack against a defenceless animal, Goddard chased the cockerel around a fenced area with a metal kebab skewer. As the cockerel attempts to run away, Goddard lunges at him, picks him up and beats him to death. As the bird dies Goddard celebrates with his arms in the air.
Goddard thrashed the cockerel “like a pinata” until he finally died then celebrated his kill
Police uncovered the video while carrying out a separate investigation.
RSPCA Chief Inspector Will Mitchell described the violent footage: ‘Mr Goddard chases the bird around taking swipes with the 3ft-long metal skewer like a baseball bat.
‘He then grabs hold of the cockerel, holds him upside down by his feet and, while the bird frantically flaps around and tries to escape his clutches, he beats his head with the pole.
‘He swings at the poor bird again and again, hitting him in the head like a pinata.
‘He then throws the bird’s body onto the ground and celebrates the vicious kill.
‘It’s absolutely shocking to watch. His violent behaviour and the savage cruelty he shows towards this bird is difficult to comprehend.”
Sergeant Andy Williams from Hampshire Constabulary’s Country Watch team said: ‘We are pleased that Goddard has finally been punished for what really was a shocking and cowardly act against the animal.
‘We work closely with our partners from the RSPCA on a variety of rural and animal welfare matters.
‘Offences such as this have no place in modern society. When information is received about such offences, the Country Watch team is only too pleased to assist in investigating them and bringing offenders to justice.’
Sentencing: 18-week custodial sentence; total of £865 costs and charges. Banned from keeping any animal for five years (expires March 2024).
Goddard was jailed for nearly three years for knocking down and seriously injuring two women on a pedestrian crossing.
After the collision Goddard left the scene and the Ford Focus he had been driving was located several hours later.
Goddard was sentenced to two years for each count of causing serious injury, was disqualified from driving for three years and must take an extended retest.
He was also handed an additional 10 month prison sentence (with a concurrent one year driving ban) for another dangerous driving incident committed whilst on bail, bringing his total jail term to 2 years and 10 months.
CONVICTED (2018) | Billy Henry Welch, born c. 1989, and William Chates, born c. 1965, both of Rowan West caravan site, Levisham Lane, Darlington DL2 1QZ – for “horrific and abhorrent” cockfighting offences
North Yorkshire Police officers described footage of the cockfights, recorded on a mobile phone, as one of the worst examples of animal cruelty they had ever seen – and hailed the “landmark” custodial sentence.
Dead birds with bloody wounds were found at the scene. Many of the rescued birds were bleeding from the body and head,
On 13 January 2018, acting on an anonymous call to the police control room, officers from North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce and the RSPCA attended premises at Skutterskelf, near Stokesley, North Yorkshire.
A number of men were located there. Officers searched buildings and vehicles, and seized a total of 27 live birds, some of which were bleeding from fresh cuts to the body and head. Inside a stable block, officers located bird feathers, and dried and fresh bloodstains on the floor and carpet.
Billy Welch
During the enquiry, an examination was carried out on a mobile phone recovered from Welch, which revealed he was present at a number of other cockfights, on 19 December 2017 and 4 January 2018.
Investigators described the extremely graphic video footage on the phone as “sickening”.
The RSPCA provided expert evidence about the condition of the birds, and arranged for their safe storage and ongoing care.
Billy Welch pleaded guilty to charges of causing an animal fight to take place, keeping animals for fighting, and being present at an animal fight on three occasions in December 2017 and January 2018.
Jailing Welch, magistrates told him: “You put your own recreational needs before the welfare of your animals, in the most horrific and abhorrent circumstances.”
William Chates pleaded guilty to being present at an animal fight.
Two further defendants were found not guilty.
Sentencing | Billy Welch: 20 weeks in jail; £2,000 costs. Disqualified from keeping all animals for 20 years. William Chates: 120 hours of unpaid work; £170 cots. Disqualified from keeping all animals for 10 years.
CONVICTED (2018) | Bill Ripley, born c. 1972, and Moses Brinkley, born 25/09/1956, both of the travellers site in Claywood Lane, Bean, Dartford DA2 8BU – forced cockerels to fight to the death
Bill Ripley whose aliases include Shamo Bill and Shamo King Bill
Ripley, who is known in cockfighting circles as Shamo Bill or Shamo King Bill, and accomplice Moses Brinkley were investigated by the RSPCA and police after graphic videos were posted on Facebook.
The charity said the cockfighting was both “high level and organised” and one of the biggest cases it had seen.
RSPCA inspector Carroll Lamport said: “We joined police officers as they executed warrants at three plots on a travellers’ site in Bean, Kent, where we were able to identify some of the ‘venues’ shown online in the fighting videos.
Images taken at the cockfighting den based at a travellers site in Dartford, Kent
A total of 242 birds were found at the site, as well as fighting “paraphernalia” such as spurs and muffs, and books on the blood sport. A makeshift pit had been built next to a caravan for the birds to fight.
Officers downloaded videos of cockfights from social media accounts and mobile phones.
One video showed a fight during which cocks pulled out mouthfuls of feathers and pecked each other in the eyes with their sharp beaks. The fight continue for 10 minutes until one bird was drenched in blood and the other collapsed, struggling to breathe.
Prosecutor Andrew Wiles told magistrates cockfighting was outlawed in Britain in 1835, but remains prevalent in the UK and throughout the world.
These defendants deliberately fought birds, the result of which is to cause them suffering,’ he said.
‘The Facebook material, which is extensive, suggests Mr Ripley, has been breeding, keeping, selling and fighting cockerels for a considerable time. It shows an interest dating back to 1990,’ said Mr Wiles.
‘There were in fact a total of 45,000 images downloaded.’
The court heard Brinkley told the probation service ‘it is the culture of the travelling community’ and he and his friend ‘did it for fun’.
Speaking outside court, Inspector Lamport said: ‘For that level of organised fighting I would have expected a prison sentence.’
‘I’m somewhat disappointed because I think cockfighting is a very, very cruel activity and the level of what these guys were doing is at the very top.
‘This is organised and prolific cockfighting, causing immense suffering to the cockerels involved.
‘I think the disqualification was very light and I would have hoped they would have been banned for life.
‘These guys were doing organised and regular cockfights and promoting what they were doing, with people coming from all over the country and abroad.
‘It is a barbaric sport that was made illegal for all the right reasons.’
He added: ‘On a cruelty ranking, this is right at the top level where animals are forced to fight.
‘The wounds they get are horrendous and the suffering is caused over a long period of time.
‘This is an abhorrent act. Most people would be horrified to see the results of cockfighting and to think it goes on in this country is appalling.’
However, Brinkley’s daughter Violet Smith said the men, who lived on a travellers’ site, had been treated unfairly.
Bill Ripley with Moses Brinkley’s daughter, Violet Smith
She said: “That is a travellers’ community thing to keep animals. We aren’t cruel to animals. We’re the type of people who put food out for animals. I don’t think it’s fair.”
Ripley and Brinkley each pleaded guilty to three charges of being present at an animal fight, one offence of keeping a premises for use in an animal fight and one offence of keeping animals for use in fighting.
The charges include five fights between July 2016 and March 2017, during which two birds were killed.
Sentencing: Ripley was given a 14-week sentence, suspended for a year, and Brinkley a 10-week term, suspended for a year.
The men were ordered to undertake rehabilitation, pay £865 in costs, and were disqualified for two years from keeping game fowl.
CONVICTED (2016) | Tristan Asbery, born 22 September 1997, of Lymington Drive, Bradford BD4 9HA, Nathan Niland, born 3 April 1990, of Idle Road, Bradford BD2 4JU, Kaider Tariq, born 24 November 1993, of Dalby Avenue, Bradford Moor BD3 7LW, Luke Lowther, born 16 April 1990, of Farway, Holme Wood BD4 0EG, and Peter Walker, born c. 1995, of Shirley Road, Bierley BD4 9PX – laughed and celebrated as they killed four badgers by setting dogs on them.
Sick thugs (L-R) Luke Lowther, Tristan Asbery, Nathan Niland and Kaider Tariq plus Peter Walker Gang of sick thugs filmed themselves setting dogs on badgers before beating the mammals to death with shovels.
All five members of a barbaric gang of badger baiters received a prison sentence after being prosecuted under the Protection of Badgers Act and Animal Welfare Act.
L-R Kaider Tariq, Tristan Asbery and Peter Walker
The attacks, described by the RSPCA as being at “the top-end level of cruelty”, took place on two separate dates in January 2005 in woodland near the city of York, North Yorkshire.
The men’s actions sparked an RSPCA investigation when a member of the public saw pictures of Tariq holding a dead badger on his Instagram account.
Prosecutor Andrew Davison told the court that the group had used a pack of dogs to flush the badgers out before setting the animals on them.
They then took then animals and kicked and stamped on them, also hitting them with a spade.
They filmed and took pictures of their actions. Mr Davison said that in some of the images, the men could be seen “holding up badgers as trophies.”
He added that the group had shown a “significant enjoyment of abusing and torturing badgers” by “savagely” attacking them.
“This case is about people who go to considerable lengths to seek out animals who are completely overwhelmed by them as more powerful adversaries,” he said. “This is as serious a case of animal cruelty as I have seen.”
After the RSPCA were made aware of the images on Tariq’s social media, officers teamed up with police to execute a warrant on his home.
They found two dogs being kept in a back yard filled with “faeces, urine, and rubbish”, and three cockerels suffering from a serious foot infection.
Analysis of Tariq’s phone subsequently led to the arrests of Niland and Lowther.
RSPCA officers subsequently seized a number of dogs from Niland’s then address on Sticker Lane, after finding them suffering from injury.
Graphic video footage of the two badger-baiting trips was played to the court.
One six-minute video, filmed by Peter Walker, showed four dogs dragging two badgers from a sett and fighting with them.
Walker was heard to say one of the badgers was “still putting up a fight” and “ten minutes and it’s still alive”.
RSPCA inspector Danielle Grimshaw, who was involved in the investigation, said: “All the time you can hear the badgers screaming.
“They hit the badgers with spades, hold them down while they’re being mauled, and kick them like footballs.
“You can hear them saying things like ‘Don’t like getting bit these dogs do they’, ‘Look at that, still putting up a fight’, ‘Stand on its neck’, and ‘Good ten minutes and it’s still alive’.
“At one point, they hold a dying badger up to the camera and pose for pictures before giving it back to the dogs.”
The court also saw separate video footage of dogs being set upon a domestic rabbit, leading to an additional charge of animal cruelty against Tariq.
Saf Salam, mitigating for Asbery and Lowther, admitted his clients’ actions had been “barbaric and abhorrent”, and said their behaviour “would haunt them for the rest of their lives.”
Kevin Walker, for Tariq, said his client had been led by peer pressure and was “unaware” his actions were illegal.
Clive Rees, for father-of-three Niland, said his client’s offending had caused the breakdown of his relationship and the loss of his job in a pet shop.
Kevin Walker for Peter Walker, a labourer, said his client suffered from ADHD as a child and did not learn to read and write. He made friends with the wrong people and claimed he did not know they were going badger baiting. He went along with it to not appear weak. He did not own a dog.
As they were taken from a rowdy courtroom, Niland and Lowther who both smelled strongly of alcohol, heckled abuse at the bench.
Niland shouted: “Paedophiles don’t get as long as we are getting.”
Lowther yelled: “You give nonces lesser sentences. Rat.”
After Walker was sentenced, he grinned as he was led to the cells.
Sentencing | Tariq and Niland, who had admitted additional charges of animal cruelty alongside the badger-related offences, were both jailed for 24 weeks.
Asbery was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail, and Lowther to 12 weeks.
Walker, who was found guilty after a trial and not sentenced until October 2016, was given a 26-week prison term.
All five were given lifetime bans from owning dogs, with Tariq banned from owning any animal.
