CONVICTED (2018) | Adrian Straw, born 1963, of Mulberry Gardens, Nottingham NG6 8JH – killed his pet cat with a hammer
Adrian Straw subjected his elderly cat, Lupo, to a violent death
Adrian Straw was seen smashing 14-year-old Lupo over the head three times in his garden by a horrified neighbour.
The female cat was heard screaming in pain as Straw killed her at 5.50am outside his home on July 4, 2017.
Straw admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the cat and failing to meet her needs in contravention of the Animal Welfare Act.
Presiding JP Marion Smalley told Straw: “The animal had been in pain before with its paws because of ingrowing toenails and you did not seek medical treatment for it.
“You killed the animal, causing acute suffering. We heard it screamed out. There was no excuse not to take it to a vet or an animal charity for treatment. The incident caused distress to neighbours.”
Straw admitted failing to protect the cat from pain by killing it in an inappropriate manner. He also pleaded guilty to failing to get adequate veterinary care for its ingrowing nails.
After the hearing RSPCA inspector Laura Kirkham said: “I will never know the real motives or whether Lupo was conscious when this incident occurred.
“Subjecting Lupo to blows to the head with a hammer is completely inappropriate. If there were any concerns for her health then either an emergency vet or ourselves should have been contacted for advice or help.
“Some of her claws were so overgrown that they had penetrated her pads and had grown into almost a complete circle. This would clearly have been causing her a great deal of pain and discomfort, particularly as this was on both of her front paws.”
Sentencing | 12-week prison sentence, suspended for a year. 140 hours of community work. Total costs and charges of £905. Banned for life from keeping animals.
CONVICTED (2018) | Rudy Dear, born 3 November 1978, and wife Leanna Dear, born 7 December 1980, of St Aelreds Mews, Derwenthorpe, York YO31 0RW – neglected a Lhasa Apso so badly she was almost blind.
Lhasa Apso Lady was found by a visiting council officer with eye ulcers and infected eyelids.
Her eye sores were weeping pus, which matted the fur to her face, and she was covered in fleas and lice.
Lady was nursed back to health and rehomed
Her owners, Rudy and Leanna Dear, who have links to the travelling community, pleaded guilty to failing to look after Lady, and causing her unnecessary suffering.
In mitigation, they said a family bereavement meant that Lady had been left with Mr Dear who did not do all he should to look after her.
Lady, who has been renamed, is now in a loving new home.
Sentencing: Rudy Dear – 200 hours of unpaid work; £85 court surcharge Leanna Dear – £120 fine and a £30 court surcharge. Each must also pay £500 in prosecution costs. Both were banned from keeping animals for ten years.
CONVICTED (2018) | Robert McKie, born 03/01/1992, of Woodside Road, Chilwell, Beeston NG9 5GX – killed his pet cat after leaving her tethered in a filled bath
Cat killer Robert McKie is a serving soldier with the British Army
Soldier Robert McKie claimed his cat died accidentally after he left her alone in the bath and went out to collect his wife.
Paul Wright, prosecuting, said the cat had “urinated and defecated” in McKie’s home. He put her in a dog crate for 24 hours on the day before she was found dead at the house.
The cat’s body was exhumed after McKie’s wife called the RSPCA to say her husband “kept it in a cage and killed it while washing it in the bath.”
A post mortem found bruising to the abdominal area. Pressure to the right jugular vein had caused protrusion of the eye. Asphyxia was not ruled out.
When questioned by the RSPCA, McKie said he placed the cat in the bath and put soap on her fur to wash it. He then left her tethered with a dog lead and went to collect his wife.
“When they returned home, he said it was hanging over the side of the bath, that it had got out of the bath and the lead was attached,” said Mr Wright.
McKie pleaded guilty to failing to provide a suitable environment for the cat on July 4, 2017, and causing unnecessary suffering the next day.
He told the court: “I am sorry for what happened to my cat. In hindsight, I wish I had put it back in the crate.
“I left her and everything was calm. She had calmed down. I didn’t see it as a problem.
“As I started washing the cat, it will be clinging onto anything with everything she has got.
“All I can say is that it was in no way malicious. With hindsight, I should have left it in the crate.”
He added that when a previous cat suffered a leg fracture, a vet told him that it should be kept in a crate for three months. He said: “That was strict advice from the vets themselves.”
McKie told the JPs that he served three years in the Army. He was accompanied in court by sergeant major Sean Ryan, who said that he would lose his job and house if sent to prison.
“The award of a non-custodial sentence would not necessarily mean that he will be retained in the Army. That matter would be decided by his commanding officer or a higher authority,” said Mr Ryan.
Sentencing: McKie was ordered to pay £300 costs to the RSPCA and a government tax of £85. He was banned for five years from keeping any animals (expired January 2023).
CONVICTED (2018) | Clint Rimanoczy, born 6 February 1989, of Milton Close, Horton, Slough SL3 9PP – cut off the ears and tails of two puppies
Clint Rimanoczy (misspelt as Rimanaczy in linked article) was sentenced at Slough Magistrates’ Court on Friday, December 8, 2017, for carrying out a prohibited procedure on an animal.
The charge relates to an incident on November 23, 2016, involving the cutting off of the ears and tails of two cane corso puppies.
Rimanoczy also admitted to a separate charge of removing whole/part of a dog’s tail and a third charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal by failing to seek veterinary assistance.
Sentencing | 18 weeks in jail. Costs/charges of £7,056.28. Banned from keeping animals for 20 years. Deprivation order on a dog and her two puppies.
CONVICTED (2017) | John Declan Ashurst-O’Shaughnessy, born 14 October 1994, of Bolton Road, Atherton, Manchester M46 and Lorraine Ashurst, born c. 1964, of 113 Cameron Street, Leigh WN7 5EA – for the mistreatment of three young horses.
Lorraine Ashurst and her son John Declan Ashurst-O’Shaughnessy were both found guilty of four offences under the Animal Welfare Act which took place between January and March 2017 at Barlows Farm on Close Lane in Hindley, Wigan.
Concerns had been raised about a number of horses which had been left on the land, with some causing problems for motorists by wandering out onto nearby roads. RSPCA inspectors left notes, after visiting in February 2017, before arranging follow-up visits.
The Palomino was lame with laminitis and a foot abscess
The ponies, a Palomino mare, a chestnut gelding and a grey mare, had different injuries such as foot abscesses, laminitis and osteoarthritis, which were not addressed by the pair.
Charity inspectors felt their condition had deteriorated as they had not been placed on a satisfactory worming regime.
Sentencing: John Declan Ashurst O’Shaughnessy – 12 month community order to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. Total of £1,085 costs and charges. Disqualified from keeping any animals for five years, later reduced to two years on appeal. Deprivation order was placed on the three ponies, with a foal also born to the grey mare. Later appealed, unsuccessfully.
A warrant was issued for Lorraine Ashurst’s arrest when she failed to appear for sentencing.
In July 2018 John Declan Ashurst-O’Shaughnessy saw his appeal against conviction and sentence, for three offences of causing unnecessary suffering, dismissed.
His sentence of 150 hours of community service, with £1,000 costs and £85 victim surcharge, was confirmed by the court.
But his disqualification from keeping animals, which had been five years, was reduced to just two (expired 2020).
On 23 January 2020 Wigan Today reported that Lorraine Ashurst had still not received her court punishment – more than two years after her conviction.
Ashurst, who was represented by Clive Rees, was due to be sentenced for three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, and two counts of failing to surrender to police bail. A further warrant was issued for her arrest.
Justices had tried to sentence Ashurst on two occasions following her conviction, in August and September 2018, only for her not to attend court on both dates.
The hearing was told that she had attended court on January 16, 2020, only for the case to be adjourned once again until this week when once again, she was a no-show without notifying the court or her solicitor.
Source: Wigan Today (article removed).
Update | February 2024
Lorraine Ashurst was finally sentenced for her part in the neglect of the three ponies.
She had pleaded not guilty to mistreating the animals on Barlow’s Farm at Hindley but was convicted by magistrates after a trial.
RSPCA prosecutors had brought charges in relation to a Palomino mare, a chestnut gelding and a grey mare, who were each found with injuries after inspectors visited the site off Close Lane.
The court heard that Ashurst failed to take medical measures that would ease the horses’ suffering and also neglected to seek parasitic worm control treatment for them.
Sentencing had been due to take place on several occasions in 2023, but Ashurst failed to appear in court each time. Ultimately an arrest warrant was issued and she was brought back before the courts on 12 February 2024.
She had also been charged with bail breaches but these were dropped because it was decided that they wouldn’t serve the interests of justice.
Sentencing | 10 days of rehabilitation activities; told to pay a fine, court costs and a victim services surcharge totalling £840. She is barred from keeping animals for two years (expires February 2026).
CONVICTED (2017) | Alexander Kyle Grice, born c. 1966, and Victoria Louisa Kyle Grice, born c. 1968, of Llwyncelyn, Glanarthan, Llandysul SA44 6PL – for cruelty towards dogs, a rabbit and a guinea pig
Brother and sister Alexander and Victoria Grice were both convicted on 12 counts of animal cruelty following a two-day trial in September 2017.
The case was brought by the RSPCA and both defendants had denied all the charges.
Among the offences of which they were jointly convicted were failing to protect a basset hound named Bertie from pain, suffering or disease. Bertie was underweight, in poor condition and not living in a suitable environment.
The pair were also found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a bichon frise dog named Bella, who was underweight, suffering from severe dental disease, skin disease, mammary tumours and an ear infection.
The pair were also found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering by failing to treat flea infestations, skin, eye and ear infections for various dogs and to causing unnecessary suffering to a rabbit and a guinea pig.
Sentencing: Community orders – Alexander Grice failed to comply with this and in June 2018 was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail. Victoria Grice’s order was later revoked on health grounds. Total of £585 costs and charges each. Three-year ban on keeping animals (expired 2020).
CONVICTED (2014) | Robert James Mcaleenan, born c. 1959, and son Conor Mcaleenan, born 21 February 1986, of 210 Lisnevenagh Road, Antrim BT41 2JT – jailed for a catalogue of animal cruelty offences against dozens of horses, ponies and donkeys
Robert and Conor Mcaleenan were jailed for allowing horses and ponies to suffer horrifically
Travellers Robert and Conor Mcaleenan were jailed after police discovered a ‘scene of horror’ at their farm, with decomposing dead horses among those still alive.
The case was triggered by a tip-off from a member of the public. The scene that confronted vets and PSNI officers on November 22, 2011, was one of horror.
Conor Mcaleenan
Cruel horse traders Robert and Conor Mcaleenan from Antrim
They were faced with an overpowering stench of dead animals which had been dumped in a heap on the farm, with numerous other standing around in filth, starving and left to fend for themselves.
Conor Mcaleenan
One vet said: “The scale of what I saw was unbelievably large. The father and son had fundamentally failed to protect the animals, failed to address the most basic health and husbandry requirements.
“Some of the animals were in such a pitiful state of suffering that they had to be euthanised on humane grounds.”
Robert Mcaleenan
Judge Desmond Marrinan told the Mcaleenans: “This is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty that I have encountered and you should be thoroughly ashamed of your callous behaviour.”
The judge said he was unimpressed by the men’s defence and found no substance in claims the pair had not set out to deliberately cause suffering or distress to the animals.
He told the court the case photographs were “horrific… almost unbelievable”, and said: “The evidence bore testimony to the fact they treated these poor animals in a pitiless manner without the slightest regard for their welfare. In my view they are unfit to be carers for any animal.”
Sentencing: Conor Mcaleenan, who had owned the animals, was jailed for 14 months.
Robert James Mcaleenan, who owns the farm between Antrim and Ballymena, was given nine months.
The pair were banned from keeping animals for 25 years.
In January 2018 the Mcaleenans reappeared in court accused of breaching their ban on keeping animals. The outcome of their latest court case is unknown, however.
CONVICTED (2014) | serial wildlife and pet abusers Joshua Robert Percy Varey, born 26/02/1990, of Duke Street, Colne BB8; Shaun Mullens, born 11/11/1991, of Dean Street, Trawden, Colne BB8 8RN; Paul Ashworth, born 14/10/1967, of Tennyson Road, Colne BB8 9SD – shook a cat out of a tree so their dogs could attack it
Josh Varey and accomplices Shaun Mullens and Paul Ashworth laughed as they set their dogs on other terrified animals so they could make ‘trophy’ videos for a dog-fighting racket.
Varey filmed Mullens and Ashworth climbing up a tree and trying to shake a cat out of its branches so that their dogs could maul it.
Varey and Mullens also filmed a horrifying incident in which they used one of their dogs to attack a badger after digging into its sett.
Vile: Shaun Mullens
Magistrates saw DVD footage in which Varey could be heard laughing as distressed animals yelped in terror. In one attack, caught on film, a voice was heard saying ‘It’s dead’ before a badly injured badger crawled away.
The court had heard that police and RSPCA officers found the DVD during dawn raids at 11 homes across Pendle in summer 2013, in which officers seized three lurchers, two terriers and a lurcher/bull terrier cross, as well as computers, mobile phones, cash and drugs equipment
Josh Varey outside court
The operation followed a 12-month evidence gathering operation into badger digging, deer poaching, hare coursing and offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Paul Ashworth
In October 2013, six cats were killed by lurchers in attacks in Colne over three days. Police said the incidents were known as ‘cat coursing’, where dogs were trained to kill domestic pets before going poaching or badger baiting.
Shaun Mullens
Magistrates heard that Varey, who bought and sold dogs for profit, and bred them to fight other animals, had injured and scarred dogs in cages outside at his home and was proud that his animals were ‘adept at fighting.’
Phones found at Varey’s house contained animal baiting videos, photographs of animals, and messages about ‘doing holes’, ‘going out with the terriers’ and ‘going digging’.
The prosecutor said: ‘ We suggest that this is talking about about putting dogs down holes to get at animals.’
He said there were photographs showing a scarred dog, a dog with blood around its mouth, and a photograph of a fox and fox cub.
When interviewed, Ashworth claimed he was only doing what he was told when he was shaking the tree a cat had run up.
Paul Ashworth
The cat was forced to run quickly up another tree to get away from the dogs, and said the cat would have been terrified.
When Varey was questioned, he didn’t deny any responsibility for the film on his phone but made no comment. Mullens admitted it was his dog in the badger fight video.
Varey finally has his collar felt.
After the case, RSPCA Inspector Ian Briggs said: ‘These men showed absolutely no regard for any of the animals, including their own dogs.
‘This was cruelty in its most abhorrent form.’
Sentencing: Varey and Mullens were jailed for 126 and 114 days respectively and banned from keeping pets for ten years (expires July 2024). Ashworth was jailed for 76 days and banned from keeping animals for 5 years (expires July 2019).
Serial offender Joshua Varey was charged with further animal cruelty offences alongside another man, Howard Bernard Lewin, born 20/12/67, of 6 Dickson Street, Colne.
Another of Josh Varey’s partners in wildlife crime Howard Lewin of 6 Dickson St, Colne. Top-right photo shows one of Lewin’s dogs whose scarred face shows all the hallmarks of her having been forced to fight other animals.
The pair pleaded guilty to being present at an animal fight and causing unnecessary suffering to a ferret and a rat. Varey also faced an additional charge of breaching his disqualification order after two dogs were found at his home.
Speaking about this case RSPCA special investigation officer Jason Bowles said: “We were alerted to a really disturbing video that had been posted on Varey’s Facebook page,”
“In the video, a pet ferret is pitched against a wild rat in a hutch and they are urged to fight. The men are clearly encouraging the animals to fight and are shouting at the ferret, willing it on to attack the rat.
“The rat is frantically trying to escape, climbing the bars of the hutch and looking for a way out.
“The men tip and shake the hutch to try to encourage the animals to fight. There are a few clashes but generally the terrified animals cower in separate corners.
“In the video, one of the men can be heard shouting at the rat: ‘That’s disgusting, I hate them, f***ing rodent b***ards.
“We launched an investigation into the video once it had been brought to our attention but never found the rat or the ferret so, sadly, we don’t know what happened to them.
“However, we will not stand for this sort of disgusting behaviour and cruelty towards animals. We hope this case serves to show that we take online videos showing cruelty to animals very seriously and, where offences have been committed, we will take appropriate action.”
“In 2014, Mr Varey was disqualified from keeping animals for 10 years, having been convicted of animal fighting offences under the Animal Welfare Act,” SOU inspector Chris Heyworth said. “That ban is still in place.
“He came to our attention again after Cumbria Police were called to a field to reports of two men – one of whom was Mr Varey – stuck in the mud in their vehicle. They were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Deer Act 1991 and a mobile phone was seized.
“Material from that phone was passed to Lancashire Police who were investigating wildlife crime offences with RSPCA inspectors. Photos, video and texts on the phone suggested the men were still involved in wildlife crimes and, therefore, a warrant was executed at a property in Colne, Lancashire, on 28 September.
“Despite his ban, we found two dogs – both lurcher types – at the property. One of the dogs belonged to someone else but one was quite clearly his. We also found lots of evidence on a phone that showed he was participating in the keeping of dogs.”
The dog – called Nell – was seized and placed into RSPCA care.
Sgt Damian Pemberton, Lancashire Constabulary’s Rural Policing, Wildlife and Heritage Crime co-ordinator, said: “This sentence is testimony to the hard work of our rural officers who are committed to putting an end to the unnecessary suffering of animals.
“Those who mistreat animals and take part in these types of cruel activities will be tracked down and brought to justice.
“Josh Varey is a well-known animal abuser with previous convictions for animal cruelty.
“His conviction and sentence sends a clear message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated and our dedicated rural officers will work hard to bring those responsible to justice.”
Sentencing: Varey was given a 16-week jail term, suspended for two years; ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work and pay £250 in costs. He was also disqualified from keeping all animals for 15 years (expires March 2033).
Lewin was given a 12-month community order with a rehabilitation requirement.
