CONVICTED (2023) | Nicola Bradley, born c. 1988, of Welsh Road, Upperby, Carlisle CA1 3AU and Tracy Dixon, born c. 1976, of Warnell Drive, Harraby, Carlisle CA1 3LR – sadistically tortured and killed a friend’s African grey parrot.
Tracy Dixon (left) and Nicola Bradley were jailed for the sadistic killing of a friendly African grey parrot called Sparky
Friends Bradley and Dixon were collected from a night out by Paul Crooks, who took the women to his home at around 5.30am on July 30, 2022.
As the women carried on drinking, Mr Crooks went to bed. He woke at 8.30am to find his guests had messed around with shaving foam which had gone over the cage of the parrot, Sparky.
This was cleaned and, as he left his house to go shopping, he told the women to leave the bird alone.
But on returning home Mr Crooks found the women wearing his clothing with Sparky unresponsive and unrecognisable, her head hanging limply out of a cage.
After confronting the pair, he learned the parrot had been covered with Mr Muscle, Brasso, furniture polish, daubed in gloss paint, and also hit with a tea towel.
Attempts were also made to feed Sparky to Mr Crooks’ dog before the parrot was dumped into a tumble drier which was switched on.
Mr Crooks was told that Bradley had snapped Sparky’s neck with Dixon reporting the bird to be “gasping” when pulled from the drier.
But after police were alerted and the women were interviewed, they sought to blame each other for the shocking cruelty.
The women went on trial in July 2023 having denied causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal but were found guilty by magistrates.
Mr Crooks had told the court that singing Sparky was a big hit with his friends, and used to belt out the national anthem plus theme tunes from Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
Sentencing them, Judge Richard Archer said “You, together, sadistically tortured and essentially killed Sparky. It is frankly beyond comprehension how anyone could treat an animal in his way.”
Sentencing | 25-month custodial. Both were banned from owning or keeping animals indefinitely.
CONVICTED (2023) | Reegan Smith, born 3 December 2004, of Dunstan Street, Netherfield, Nottingham but with links to the Gedling* and Sherwood areas of the city – kicked and hit a helpless pigeon with a tray while three women cheered him on.
Smith attacked the defenceless bird in a bike shed area off Winchester Street, Sherwood, on the evening of October 18, 2022.
The RSPCA was sent copies of three CCTV video clips taken of the cruel behaviour, which showed he was seemingly encouraged by three female onlookers.
RSPCA Chief Inspector Rebecca Lowe said: “The video clips show sickening violence being inflicted on the poor pigeon, involving not only the perpetrator but three female onlookers who seemed to be egging him on.
Reegan Smith was filmed torturing a helpless pigeon while the three females pictured egged him on
“When we spoke to the person who had sent the CCTV footage to us, they told us that they had found the injured pigeon and moved it to a place of safety. We provided the clips to a local vet who reviewed the footage and he confirmed that trauma had been inflicted on the pigeon.”
The vet reported that the videos showed a “young male inflicting repeated trauma to the pigeon by kicking [it] numerous times”.
He continued: “It is self-evident that the male’s foot makes contact with the bird, and… the bird jumps and flutters and tries to escape from the male.
“It is clear that this young male knows what he is doing as he re-approaches the bird to see what the bird is doing …. It is evident that this young man is playing to an audience and he is being egged on.
“The young females appear to be filming the incident with no effort to prevent the man from inflicting any further punishment on this bird. He attempts to inflict further damage and pain to the bird, he used a further object (tray) to hit at the bird. In addition the young man appears to throw a small object towards the bird.
Smith pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the pigeon and given a suspended sentence and short ban on keeping animals.
Sentencing | four-month suspended prison sentence; costs of £300 and a victim surcharge of £154; 15 days of rehabilitation. Three-year ban on keeping animals (expires August 2026).
CONVICTED (2023) | Robert Taylor, born c. 1988, of Standersfoot Place, Chell Heath. Stoke-on-Trent ST6 6HR – found with a dead gosling in his bath.
Robert Taylor, an employee of Churchill China, was fined after a gosling he had taken from a canal path died in his bath.
Taylor was interviewed by police when they received information about an incident at Taylor’s home on June 12, 2023.
Prosecutor Sue Hayers said: “They attended and discovered a gosling dead in a bath with a small amount of water in it. He [Taylor] was arrested.”
In his police interview Taylor said he had taken the bird from a canal towpath. He said he thought he was doing the right thing. He said he intended to call the RSPCA or the RSPB but neither organisation was alerted.
He said when he got home he put the gosling in a bath of water. He then went and got drunk. It was then too late to call anyone. He woke up, saw the bird and did not do anything. By the time he woke again the bird was dead and the police had arrived.
Taylor pleaded guilty to taking a wild bird.
Sentencing | fined £250 plus £100 costs and £100 surcharge.
CONVICTED (2023) | Nicholas John Low, born c. 1952, a serial animal abuser from Ty Isoe, Maes Maelor, Llandegla, Wrexham LL11 3AA – left puppies to starve to death in a dingy caravan parked in a forest; other animals kept in squalor.
Photo: North Wales Police
Low, who has two previous convictions for near identical offences, was jailed and handed a second lifetime ban for leaving dogs, cats and a goose to live in squalor
The custodial sentence came after he was found guilty by trial of five offences under the Animal Welfare Act. This includes causing unnecessary suffering to dogs, cats and a goose.
Furthermore, it was said that Low failed to care for 11 dogs and puppies. He was also found to be in breach of a lifetime disqualification order imposed in May 2007.
Among the animals found at the scene were an emaciated yellow Labrador and two dead puppies. Low also had cats that “all appeared unkempt with dirty coats” with one found to have a large polypoid affecting his ear.
A preliminary post mortem on the dead puppies revealed that both animals were in “poor body condition” and had likely “starved to death.”
The vet also confirmed that a tabby cat was found to have a burst abscess under his chin as well as thick pus coming out of his right ear. The Labrador was described as “thin with a body condition score of one out of nine where one is emaciated and nine is obese, she weighed 16.1kg.”
Six puppies were all examined and were estimated to be aged between eight and 10 weeks old. It was said they were “small in stature and all of thin body condition.”
In a witness statement provided to the court, RSPCA inspector Rachael Davies described the location where Low kept the animals as a clearing in the forest.
The inspector said there was lots of rubbish and recycled plastics, tins, bike wheels, plastic bags and general waste lying around on the ground in the clearing.
She said: “I could see an extremely skinny yellow Labrador type dog and white long haired German Shepherd type dog tethered to what I would describe as some sort of trailer. The dogs had no access to any suitable shelter, there was a sodden cushion on the ground near the German Shepherd and lots of empty dirty metal bowls. I could clearly see all of the ribs and hips on the Labrador, and could easily feel her spine, her teats were enlarged.”
In a caravan, she found eight black and chocolate Labrador cross puppies who were “very small”. Insp Davies added that the pups were in a “very unsanitary” environment and she “did not see any food or water bowls inside the caravan”.
Inspector Davies spoke with Low at first and advised about getting medical attention for the animals and proper accommodation for the dogs but he was “disagreeable” and refused their help. She later returned with animal rescue officer Melanie Froude and once again asked if she would be able to take the dogs to the vets, but this was refused and she issued him with an Animal Welfare assessment warning notice.
It was soon discovered that Low had been disqualified from keeping all animals for life – and the officers reattended the address with North Wales Police.
Inspector Davies described the conditions as much the same “just wetter and colder”.
She said: “The German Shepherd was no longer tethered to the trailer with the Labrador and the puppies were roaming free in the forest clearing. Four of the puppies gathered together and huddled themselves around a lit fire bin just outside the caravan where they had been contained on my last visit.
“They were all very quiet and looked very cold and like that had lost condition since I had last seen them. The Labrador was still tethered to the same trailer and she also appeared to have lost condition looking a lot thinner. The water bowls that had been empty on my last visit now appeared to be filled with rain water.”
One of the rescued puppies is now doing well after her ordeal
In total 13 animals (plus the two deceased pups) were removed and placed in the care of the RSPCA.
Since they were seized, the 13 animals have been doing well in RSPCA with the Labrador and pups settling in well in foster homes. The animals will now be found forever homes.
Sentencing | 26-week custodial; £154 victim surcharge. Lifetime ban from keeping animals.
CONVICTED (2023) | Alan Mee, born 15 November 1961, of of 63, Larch Avenue, Newton-le-Willows WA12 8JF – took tawny owls from the wild and kept them in filthy cages.
Alan Mee
Alan Mee was fined and disqualified from keeping birds after officers from Cheshire Police seized wild owls that were being kept in unsuitable conditions at his home.
Mee pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to take reasonable steps to ensure the needs of an animal, and two counts of possessing a wild bird.
The tawny owls had no access to fresh water, an adequate enclosure size, or a clean food ledge.
On 20 June, 2022, Cheshire Police’s Rural Crime Team, Merseyside Police, RSPCA, and Natural England executed a warrant as a result of information relating to wild birds in the Cheshire area.
Cheshire Police led on the warrant at Mee’s address where three tawny owls were located, two of which were suspected to have been taken from the wild.
All three owls were seized due to the conditions they were being kept in, which included having dirty water, no feeding area, and the aviary being too small.
Sentencing | fine and court costs to the value of £823. Disqualified from keeping birds for five years (expires July 2028).
CONVICTED (2023) | Leslie Shooter, born c. 1966, of Constable Road, Hunmanby, Filey YO14 0LH – inflicted horrific injuries on a barn owl.
The barn owl suffered fatal injuries when it became caught in a rat trap set by Les Shooter.
On April 8, 2023, a dog walker discovered the badly-injured adult barn owl caught in a spring-operated trap in the allotments at Sands Lane, Hunmanby.
The bird was rescued and taken to a vet, but due to the severity of the injuries to its legs it had to be euthanised.
When spoken to by North Yorkshire Police, the tenant of the plot, Leslie Shooter, stated that he had set a number of traps to control rats. However, he had not covered the traps as required by law, resulting in the trapping of the bird.
In court, Shooter pleaded guilty to using an animal trap in circumstances for which it is not approved, causing a trap to be set to cause injury to a wild bird and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Sentencing | 100 hours of unpaid work requirement; £199 in costs and surcharges.
Spring-operated traps, often referred to as ‘Fenn’ traps, can be legally operated in the UK, but their use and target species is strictly controlled by legislation. Potential offences include use whilst uncovered, neglect in checking and use to capture wild birds.
CONVICTED (2023) | Sonny-Joe Barney, born 18 March 2003, of 11 Summer Fields, Verwood BH31 6LG – goaded his dogs into attacking and killing a chicken.
Barney, a traveller, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a chicken by releasing dogs on it.
Dorset Police’s rural crime team found evidence of a dog being set on a chicken during an investigation into hare coursing. The chicken was killed in the incident, which took place in a field on 7 July 2022.
Sentencing | 12-month community order with 20 days of rehabilitation activity. 12-month disqualification order, which states that he must not transport or arrange transport, own, keep or take part in keeping dogs or chickens.
Barney was given a criminal behaviour order, banning him from owning wild animals or catapults, as well as to keep off private farmland.
Image: Dorset Police
He appeared at Poole Magistrates Court again on Friday 14 July, 2023, to be handed the criminal behaviour order. That states that for a five-year period, he must not:
Be in possession of a wild animal, wild bird or part of a wild animal or bird living or dead
Be knowingly in possession of a catapult or shot such as ball bearings or a hunting lamp including in a vehicle with a catapult or such shot in a place to which the public have access or private land as a trespasser
Allow a dog under his control off a lead except on private land with the landowners written permission which must be presented to a police officer on request
Be on private farmland, agricultural land or forestry land without written permission of the appropriate authority or landowner, this permission must be presented to a police officer on request
If Barney breaches any of the terms of the order, he can be arrested and taken back to court.
Police Constable Lauren Middleton, of Dorset Police’s Rural Crime Team, said: “Our investigation revealed evidence that Barney was believed to be involved in hare coursing and the offence for which he has been convicted shows that he has little regard for the welfare of animals.
“We have worked hard to compile evidence and secure this order from the court, which we hope will assist in stopping the defendant from reoffending in the future. We would like to send a special thank you to Dorset Council’s Community Safety Team for helping us secure this order.
“We hope this demonstrates to our rural communities that we will take decisive action against those who commit offences of this nature, and we would urge them to work with us by reporting any suspected breaches of the order to police so we can take further steps if necessary.”
CONVICTED (2023) | David Lee, born c. 1983, of Roker Avenue, Roker, Sunderland SR6 0HP – carried out a bizarre sexual act on a baby herring gull.
David Lee carried out a bizarre sex act on a baby herring gull. It’s known if the bird survived
Sexual deviant David Lee was seen near Gladstone Street, Sunderland, at around 1am on August 18 2022, chasing a gull down the road, with a second piece of footage showing him chasing the same bird down the road again.
Finally, in a third piece of footage, Lee emerges holding a smaller bird.
He could then be seen putting the bird between his legs, before masturbating while watching pornography on his phone.
When he had finished, Lee put the gull down, kicked it away and walked off in the opposite direction.
Lee was arrested at a nearby takeaway and told police he picked up the gull because he thought it was hurt and was looking on his phone to find out what he should do. But instead of searching for a vet’s phone number, as he claimed to have done, police checks revealed Lee had actually been looking at animal porn, the court was told.
Lee, who is originally from Washington, Tyne and Wear, but lives in the city, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the bird.
Annalisa Moscardini, mitigating, said Lee was a heavy drinker who experienced blackouts.
“He accepts he must have done this act but he didn’t have a good recollection of it,” she said in explanation of his initial denials.
“To some extent he cannot explain what happened.”
A psychiatric report found he suffered from an unstable personality disorder and was detached from reality. He was also a pathological liar whose lies served no purpose.
Lee, who is on benefits, has a criminal record and was given a prison sentence in 2020 for possession of a blade.
Sentencing Lee, Chair of the Bench Angela Thompson said suffering was caused to the young bird and that Lee had consumed alcohol and accessed porn involving animals at the time of the offence – which were aggravating features.
Sentencing | jailed for 24 weeks; £300 costs and £150 surcharge. Banned from keeping animals for 10 years.
CONVICTED (2023) | Caroline Smith, born c. 1971, of Riley Green Marina, Bolton Road, Hoghton, Preston PR5 0SP – throttled a neighbour’s cockerel in a fit of rage after the bird kept waking her up
‘Very, very angry’ sleep deprived lorry driver Caroline Smith gave a cockerel brain damage because he kept waking her up
New Ager Smith, who also works as a lorry driver, injured the black araucana cross cockerel named Eddy and left him with brain damage because his loud crowing woke her up at 3am.
The court heard how Smith was woken up in the early hours of September 2022. Smith believed that her neighbour had previously agreed to kill the bird, but had killed the wrong one – so she decided to take matters into her own hands
Eddy the cockerel endured a period of unconsciousness and clinical signs suggesting brain damage from trauma or oxygen deprivation
Another neighbour then saw Smith trying to strangle Eddy and hit him with a boat fender – which left him unconscious. The neighbour rushed Eddy to an emergency vet, who found blood around the bird’s nostrils. He also said the cockerel was displaying clinical signs that were consistent with having sustained a brain injury, either via head trauma or via oxygen deprivation.
Violent animal abuser Caroline Smith is a follower of New Age practices
The vet also said it was not possible to determine if permanent brain damage had occurred or whether Eddy had been left with a disability.
He said that Eddy would survive the injuries, but would need close monitoring once he was back at his home in Preston.
Smith was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to Eddy on June 15, 2023.
RSPCA Inspector Taylor said: “There is never an excuse for deliberately harming and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal like this. Smith said that she worked nights and had been disturbed by noise made by Eddy’s owners – especially from their cockerel over the past couple of months. But other solutions could and should have been explored, rather than resorting to treating an animal like this.”
Sentencing | ordered to pay costs of £1,296 and a victim surcharge of £114. Banned from keeping birds for four years (expires June 2027)
