CONVICTED (2015) | Steven J Alston, born February 1966, of Pineside Road, Littlebourne, Canterbury CT3 1TG – forced his dogs to fight foxes and badgers and failed to get proper veterinary treatment for their horrific injuries.
Steven Alston was found to have been using Patterdale terriers to hunt and fight wild animals, even forcing his pets to train on a makeshift treadmill to remain fighting fit. Detectives searching the property found diaries detailing multiple fights between dogs and foxes and other wild animals, going back several decades.
Alston’s sick activities were discovered after his wife’s mobile malfunctioned and made repeated silent 999 calls to police, who treated them as emergencies.
Officers went to the couple’s house in Pineside Road, Littlebourne, and found three dogs with facial injuries consistent with being bitten by a badger or fox. Several had noses nearly torn off.
A total of eight terrier dogs, including adults and puppies, were seized by police and later signed over to the RSPCA.
Alston admitted providing dogs for badger and fox baiting and failing to get proper veterinary treatment for the injured terriers.
Charges against his wife, Lucyann Alston, were dropped.
Inspector Cliff Harrison, from the RSPCA’s special operations unit, said forcing terriers to fight wild animals was a ‘sickening form of deliberate and premeditated animal cruelty.’
‘It isn’t just the animals targeted that suffer sickening injuries, but also the dogs used in this barbaric activity,’ he said.
‘These injured dogs will have been put underground in the likes of badger setts and fox earths, where they would have endured the sort of encounters that left both animals with huge trauma wounds.
‘No animal deserves to be used and treated in this way. I am pleased that the court clearly took a similarly strong view and has prevented the defendant from owning a dog ever again.’
Sentencing | jailed for 160 days and ordered to pay £10,000. Lifetime ban on keeping animals.
What A Mentally Disturbed Scum.
Absolutely Sickening Heart Breaking.
Bit Of Work The Scum Wants, he wouldn’t have the energy to go out Digging or Hunting or whatever else he has been up to.
If them Dogs look like that, imagine what the poor Wildlife went through.
At least now his face is out there, and everyone knows who he is.
He won’t have no luck for what he has done.
He has brought Shame To His Family.
Absolute Scum.