CONVICTED (2024) | Jake Craven, born 11 February 1996, currently of Linnaeus Street, Anlaby, Hull HU3, and Megan Findlay, born 18 April 1999, of Victoria Park Avenue, Scarborough YO12 7TR – neglected three dogs, starving one to death.
Craven and Findlay were offered help with rehoming when the RSPCA and a housing association officer visited their flat in Victoria Avenue in Scarborough in March 2023.
Two Staffies – Coco and her puppy Tinker – and a terrier called Rex were among several dogs being kept in breach of the tenancy agreement. When the housing association officer returned to the flat a fortnight later, she was unable to get inside.
RSPCA Inspector Tom Hutton later tracked the couple down to where they were living on wasteland near the Grand Hotel in Scarborough on June 10.
Findlay told the inspector they were homeless and Rex had died, so she had wrapped him in a blanket and put him inside their tent.
Inspector Hutton said in a statement presented to the court that Findlay then let the two Staffies out of the tent and he could see they were both extremely thin.
Their hips and ribs were prominent and their spines were visible. Both dogs were anaemic and needed treatment in an animal hospital.
A vet who examined two-year-old Coco said the dog was emaciated with a body condition score of two out of nine. Her daughter, Tinker, a six-month-old Staffie cross, scored three on the same chart.
“Both dogs were suffering due to lack of nutrition and water and were losing body condition. I estimate they would have been suffering for around a month at least to have lost that much weight,” said the vet.
In mitigation, the court was told that Findlay suffered from psychological problems, including ADHD and anxiety and depression. Craven was said to have “secondary responsibility” for the care of the dogs.
Coco and Tinker have been returned to good health and will now be rehomed by the RSPCA.
Jake Craven with Coco and Rex, the dog he and partner Findlay starved to death
Speaking after the hearing, Inspector Hutton said: “The defendants had ample time to address the weight loss of their dogs. They didn’t engage with the RSPCA’s foodbank scheme or seek the support one of our branches could have offered them if they were struggling.
“They rang us to tell us one of the dogs was dead and we rushed over, but it was too late by then.”
Sentencing | Craven – 18-month community order with 25 days of rehabilitation. Three-month curfew. Findlay – 18-month community order with 35 days of rehabilitation; victim surcharge of £114. Seven-year ban (expires May 2031).
CONVICTED (2024) | Reece Glossop, born c. 2000, of Wharfedale Lawns, Wetherby, Leeds LS22 6PU – abandoned two cats in an unhygienic flat littered with faeces and hazards.
Glossop left his home over the festive season, leaving his cats Daisy and Mustafa behind for nine days to fend for themselves inside the filthy and hazardous flat.
Cat faeces were behind the flat door and the area behind the living room door was covered in mouldy faeces.
No litter tray had been provided and RSPCA inspectors found faeces piled up on the floor which was also strewn with rubbish.
Glossop, who didn’t even have the decency to attend court for his first hearing, was found guilty in his absence of one offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
In a a written statement read to the court RSPCA Inspector Emma Ellis described being met with a strong smell of ammonia in the communal area outside the flat during her visit on January 11, 2023.
The inspector met Glossop at the property, and he said he was cleaning to the flat.
She asked about the welfare of the cats and he said he had left on December 24 to go to London because of family issues. He said “someone was supposed to be looking after them”.
“He said he came back on December 28 to check on the cats, but he had to return to London and then he came back again on January 6. When I asked who was looking after the cats during that time he replied, ‘they were looking after themselves’,” said the inspector.
Glossop had left food in a bowl in the living room, but there was no water.
Daisy
Daisy and Mustafa were in a normal body condition, but it was later found that Mustafa had a heart murmur, which could have been caused by stress.
In mitigation, the court heard how Glossop had been diagnosed with ADHD and suffered from psychosis. He had received therapy for a personality disorder while at a psychiatric unit.
Sentencing | 12-month community order with 20 hours of unpaid work and 15 hours of “rehabilitation”; £200 costs and £114 victim surcharge. Banned from keeping animals for just three years (expires April 2027).
CONVICTED (2024) | Siem Tamrat, born 9 September 2000, of Mereton Mansions, Brookmill Road, Deptford, London SE8 4HS – neglected a puppy until she almost starved to death.
Tamrat denied the animal cruelty charges against him but was found guilty after failing to provide a three-month-old American bulldog puppy, Nala, with adequate food and water.
The pup was presented to PDSA vets in “a state of emaciation” on November 29, 2022.
Nala had been taken to the vets on November 15, with a history of being underweight. At that appointment she weighed 10.6kg.
Tamrat was advised to feed an appropriate diet of complete puppy food three times a day and return two weeks later.
When she was taken back to the vets, Nala weighed just 7.7kg and was subdued, barely able to stand, with muscles shaking, and standing with her head down.
The bones of her head, limbs, spine, ribs and pelvis were easily visible, the RSPCA said.
Tamrat was advised by the vets that Nala required intensive supportive treatment given her very poor condition.
He initially refused but then left the vet surgery to withdraw funds for treatment and failed to return.
As a result, the RSPCA were called to seize Nala along with police and investigate animal welfare offences.
In mitigation, Tamrat’s defence lawyer said his client’s autism and ADHD adversely affected his thinking and reasoning skills.
RSPCA Inspector Harriet Daliday attended the vet practice and described Nala as: “curled in a ball, on a drip, in her kennel and did not respond to noise or my voice.
“She did not respond when opening up her kennel and I had to gently lift her out and get support to hold her up in order to photograph her as she could not stand unaided.
“She was extremely underweight with all her ribs, her pelvis and spine easily visible.
“She was very roach backed and unsteady on her feet swaying back and forth and shaking.
“She was extremely lethargic and struggled to keep her eyes open.
“Her entire demeanour was the opposite of what you expect from a three-month-old puppy.”
Since her traumatic start to life, Nala has now made a full recovery and has been adopted by a new family.
Sentencing | 10-week custodial suspended for 12 months; 30 days of rehabilitation activity; £154 victim surcharge. A five-year ban (expires April 2029).
CONVICTED (2024) | Karl Anthony Draper, born c. 2000, of Jade Close, Kirkby, Liverpool L33 6YH – attacked his girlfriend’s French bulldog puppy more than once during sustained campaign of domestic violence.
MMA fighter Draper had been with Bekah Smith for around three years until their split in September 2023. Ms Smith then told the police that he had subjected her to verbal and physical abuse throughout their time together.
Cheryl Mottram, prosecuting, described how Ms Smith had previously “made excuses for his behaviour” and “stayed with him because she loved him”, but she “kept photographs and recordings” evidencing his numerous assaults.
French bulldog puppy Angel was also targeted by violent headcase Karl Draper
The first such incident came on April 15 2021, when Draper kicked the French bulldog puppy they had bought only a few days earlier in her side, causing the dog, named Angel, to “yelp in pain”. This would be one of many occasions when heavy cannabis user Draper took his frustrations out on the puppy.
Numerous other incidents followed which included Draper repeatedly making threats of self-harm, leaving Ms Smith feeling emotionally blackmailed into continuing with the relationship. She also suffered multiple physical assaults, including throttling, at the hands of Draper even during pregnancy and after the birth of their son.
On one voice recording, Draper is heard chillingly telling Ms Smith that she would “end up in the morgue”.
Draper also damaged property including a child’s games console during his many violent rages.
After his behaviour was reported to the police, he told officers Ms Smith “was a liar” and said the marks around her throat in photographs had been an “allergic reaction or make up”.
Ultimately, Draper admitted engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour and five counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was not charged with animal cruelty.
Ken Heckle, defending, told the court that his client suffers from issues including depression, anxiety, ADHD and self harm.
Sentencing, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC said: “People who use this type of abuse, of putting their hands around the throat, are committing serious offences, and that type of behaviour will always be regarded by the court as a real warning sign – a red flag that something more serious might happen in the future. Anyone who puts their hands around somebody else’s throat and squeezes is to be regarded as a high risk.
“All of this has had a significant and profound effect on Rebecca Smith. I am perfectly satisfied that the consequences of your behaviour towards her have caused her very significant psychological harm.
“Often, people such as you who engage in domestic abuse have two faces – the one presented to the public and the more sinister one which emerges in the context of an intimate relationship. You cannot claim to be someone of good character when your conduct has spanned a period of three years.
“However, I do take into account your immaturity and your struggles with your mental health. I am perfectly satisfied that, despite the mitigation available to you, immediate imprisonment is the only appropriate sentence to represent the serious nature of the abuse committed by you.”
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) | Sean McWhinnie, born 16 August 1980, previously of Jackie Wigg Gardens, Totton, Southampton SO40 9LZ – caught on CCTV subjecting a six-month-old foal to a 90-minute beating while sister Maxine McWhinnie (details tbc) looked on unconcerned.
Sean McWhinnie received a lifetime ban on keeping all animals while sister Maxine agreed voluntarily not to be involved with horses for 10 years
In November 2021 Sean McWhinnie, a traveller with links to Larkhall in Scotland, went to a farm in Romsey where a young New Forest crossbreed foal named Faith, belonging to his sister Maxine McWhinnie, was kept and carried out a sustained attack lasting more than one-and-a-half hours which left the six-month old animal “terrified”.
The attack took place while Maxine and another woman sat outside in full view of what was going on inside the stable. Neither woman did anything to intervene and appeared unconcerned.
Prosecuting for the RSPCA, Hazel Stephens told the court the charity had been alerted after staff at the yard saw the attack on CCTV.
She said: “It is a particularly shocking case. Faith had been caused pain and suffering through deliberate and unnecessary abuse.
“In one video clip McWhinnie can be seen punching the foal in the face causing it to spin 180 degrees.
Maxine McWhinnie appears unconcerned as her brother Sean McWhinnie subjects a foal to a prolonged vicious beating
“He repeatedly hits it with a rope halter and chases it. At one point the foal rears up and falls backwards and is extremely distressed.”
She added the foal, which would have only just been weaned and had no prior human interaction, was being cared for by someone with “zero understanding and empathy of its needs”.
In interview McWhinnie seemed unable to recognise any wrongdoing, she added, and he asked the officer “Have you ever broken a wild foal?”
The foal was removed and has since been kept at a rescue centre in Somerset, run by World Horse Welfare (WHW).
The welfare charity’s Field Officer Penny Baker said: “When I first got to the yard Faith was in a real state.
“She was very distressed and, when I tried to enter her stable, in self-defence she put her ears flat back, turned her bum towards me and tried to kick. She was terrified.”
Defending McWhinnie, Timothy Compton said he suffered his client was autistic, had ADHD and possible foetal alcohol syndrome.
He had suffered “many challenging situations” in his life including being placed in boarding school at the age of 13 due to his additional needs.
He added McWhinnie was from a traveller background and added: “In this society the approach to animals is not always the same as it is in wider society.
“He does [now] understand to a degree, given his difficulties, that the way he behaved was not the way he should have behaved.”
Career criminal McWhinnie, who has a history of violent offending (see here and here) admitted one count of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to breaching a suspended sentence, intentionally causing alarm and distress, burglary, making off without payment, aggravated vehicle taking without consent and possession of class B drugs.
For these offences he was given a further 12 months in prison, also suspended for 21 months
The sentence for these offences had been deferred to give McWhinnie a chance to prove himself, the court heard.
Judge Forster said: “This case is truly shocking. The victim of what took place was a foal, and the animal was subject to unnecessary assault.
“[Vet] Dr Green describes in a report how the the foal was repeatedly hit, wrestled and terrorised within the stable.
“I make it clear that all right-thinking people take a serious view of any cruelty towards an animal, and parliament has increased the maximum sentence [to five years] for that offence to reflect the public concern of such behaviour.”
However, the judge said that despite the “shocking nature” of the offence he had suspended the sentence after taking in to consideration McWhinnie’s “difficulties in life” and said he believed his mental health challenges had contributed to his offending.
Commenting after the sentencing, WHW’s Penny Baker said: “We welcome the lifetime ban on keeping all animals, however, we are very disappointed that the prison term for this abhorrent offence was suspended because, in our opinion, this very young foal suffered terribly at the hands of Sean McWhinnie and the deliberate attack that he subjected her to.
“I feel – I’m sure along with the rest of this nation’s animal lovers – that this was worthy of a prison term with immediate effect.”
Sentencing |
Sean McWhinnie:five-month prison sentence, suspended for 21 months; 200 hours of unpaid work. Lifetime ban on keeping animals, although he can apply for this to be lifted after 10 years.
Maxine McWhinnie, who was charged with permitting the beating, agreed to a 10-year ban on keeping equines.
CONVICTED (2023) | Brad Green, born 19 November 1998, of 33 Salterns Estate, Fareham PO16 0SE and Nathan Daniels, born January 2001, of 27 Alexander Grove, Fareham PO16 0TU – broke into a zoo, threw a bottle at a giraffe’s head and vandalised enclosures.
Bradley Green (left) and Nathan Williams broke into a popular zoo, persecuted the animals and vandalised the enclosures
Nathan Daniels, who recently founded a company named Ripplesweets Ltd, cut the barbed wire fence at Marwell Zoo in Colden Common near Winchester. He and accomplice Brad Green then carried out the attack, leaving animals, including the giraffes, cheetahs and tigers “very distressed”.
Daniels pleaded guilty to damaging the penguins’ enclosure and a fence surrounding the zoo, while Green admitted damaging an enclosure containing the giraffes. Green also admitted an animal cruelty charge in relation to the giraffe, named Ursula. In her distress she had knocked herself against the door, sustaining two long gashes on her leg.
Charges against the pair’s friends Jason Huggitt, born c. 1998, and Coral Lock, born c. 1999, who were both present during the incident, were dropped. Huggitt had been charged with burglary with intent to commit criminal damage and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal. Lock had been charged with assisting an offender, as she drove the other three thugs away from the scene.
Jason Huggitt and Coral Lock were present during the break-in, with the former initially charged with animal cruelty and burglary, but all charges against them were dropped
Video footage posted to Snapchat at the time of the break-in on February 15, 2021, showed a bottle being thrown at the head of a giraffe.
A tiger was also filmed apparently being encouraged to approach a fence before being kicking out at and scared away.
Multiple police units, including armed response officers with night vision goggles, a dog unit and a helicopter were dispatched to catch the intruders following the incident, amid fears endangered animals were at risk.
The heard the yobs had cut through a ‘double chain link fence’ before entering the premises.
Nathan Williams pictured during a court appearance. Image credit: Hampshire and IoW News.
Ellie Fargin, prosecuting, told the court the zoo’s exterior fence was cut so the pair could get into the grounds, while the doors of the giraffe and penguin enclosures were damaged.
Ms Fargin said the Snapchat video also showed the tiger in its enclosure.
The next morning, a plastic disinfectant bottle, sticks and stones were found in the tiger enclosure, while a bucket and another bottle of disinfectant were found in the giraffe enclosure, she said.
Ms Fargin said: “There is concern they had been thrown into the enclosure to cause distress as the tiger was behaving in a manner consistent with distress.
“Also, items were found in the cheetah enclosure.”
The injured giraffe was called Ursula, she said, while a door was found damaged with giraffe hair on it.
“The damage must have been caused by the giraffe or giraffes hitting it with force and that would have been done if they were in distress,” she said.
Ms Fargin said a life ring was found in the pool in the penguin enclosure and added: “The penguins displayed behaviour consistent with anxiety and distress from being disturbed.”
Daniel Reilly, defending Green, said to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, said his client has “deep regret and remorse” for his actions and threw the bottle at the giraffe “to get its attention”.
Brad Green (right) pictured with Jason Huggitt outside court. Image credit: Hampshire and IoW News.
He said Green faced a “social media backlash” following the incident and got death threats.
Mr Reilly said: “He knows that what he did is something that is significantly serious and something he is shamed by, particularly because he is, at his very core, an animal lover.”
Graham Gilbert, defending Daniels, said: “The behaviour showed a marked lack of maturity on his behalf.”
He said his client has lost his job working for a contractor for Marwell Zoo.
Three of those involved in the break-in at Marwell Zoo were swiftly outed on social media
Sentencing the pair the judge told them: “Almost two years ago, you two together had the idiotic idea of driving to Marwell Zoo during lockdown, when Marwell Zoo was closed to the public due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“You, Green, broke a door at the rear of the giraffe house. You threw the bucket and bottle of disinfectant into the enclosure and you threw something at the giraffe which we see from the video that you took.
“It struck the giraffe on the neck. One of the giraffes had an injury to its leg, with two long gashes, which was discovered the next morning.
“It happened from the giraffe being distressed, knocking itself against the door.”
He added: “It caused a great deal of public outrage at your behaviour because people are rightly sensitive at behaviour causing damage to a zoo and to animals.
“You acted in a deplorable fashion for which you must be punished. Public outrage would be such that many members of the public would like to see you in prison for this behaviour.”
Sentencing | 12-month community order with 120 hours of unpaid work; £750 compensation each to the zoo.
In early 2019 Brad Green admitted dumping the badly mutilated body of a goat in a supermarket carpark but claimed the animal was already dead when he found it.
The discovery of the animal’s brutalised remains followed a series of similar incidents in which at least five dead goats were dumped in towns and villages across Hampshire.
CONVICTED (2019) | Laura Emily Butt (aka Laura Welch), born 23 March 1986 and Timothy Wood, born 27 May 1966 both of Derby Road, Draycott, Derby DE72 3NJ – left their dogs to starve for months and refused to take them to the vet.
Convicted dog abusers Laura Butt and Timothy Wood from Draycott in Derby
Butt and Wood fed their four dogs scraps from takeaway meals and left them to fight at their home in Draycott, Derby.
The charges related to a six-year-old Akita-type dog named Bear, and 14-year-old German Shepherd Molly. Another of the dogs, Roxy, seven, was underweight.
RSPCA inspectors found the animals with protruding bones and ‘deep scratches’ but the couple refused to take them to the vets, claiming they were ‘too busy’.
Butt and Wood pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court.
Butt, who is said to have bipolar disorder, adult ADHD and nervous anxiety, sobbed throughout the hearing.
RSPCA officer Helen Mead visited the property numerous times between December 2018 and May 2019.
Prosecutor Richard Purchase said: ‘There was a worry at that time that two dogs were underweight. Molly, 14, was thin and Roxy, seven, was underweight. Advice was given that the dogs needed cooked pasta into their dog food and should be taken to the vets.’
By March the dogs had not been taken to the vets because Wood said they were ‘very busy’.
Image shows Rio in the condition he was in when rescued (left) and following his recovery
The RSPCA inspector attended their home twice that month but could not gain access.
In May 2019, a police officer attended the property with Ms Mead who had ‘concerns regarding the state of two dogs’. Bear was found lethargic with protruding hip bones and another dog in the home was ‘grumbling’ and ‘had scabs’.
Mr Purchase said: ‘The fear was that it had a fight with one of the other dogs. The scratches were deep and the dog had not had any treatment.
‘Mr Wood said the dogs were fed a lot of food. Ms Mead asked there was any dog food but Mr Wood said no.
‘The concern was that the dogs were not being fed on dog food but scrap food from the local takeaway. It would appear the dogs were so thin because of their diet. All four dogs were seized.’
Wood owned three of the dogs while Butt owned Bear. All four dogs are still with the RSPCA.
Defending Wood, Mark Moore said the couple have become ‘village pariahs’ in Draycott and even the local shop won’t serve them.
The Chair of the Bench said: ‘These cases are always difficult. That said, whilst we fully respect how the RSPCA brought this case, we and they will have seen much worse cases.
‘That is not to minimise the distress you have caused these four dogs. You were incompetent in the care you provided. We also impose a deprivation order for the four dogs.’
Sentencing | total fines, costs and charges of £1,300. Disqualified from keeping any dogs for the next three years (expired October 2022).
CONVICTED (2019) | Joshua Coles, born 1 June 1991, of Ennerleigh Farm, Washfield, near Tiverton, EX16 9RF – swallowed a live goldfish he had just won at a funfair.
Animal abuser Joshua Coles from Washfield, Tiverton
A 14 second long video posted on Snapchat showed Coles holding the fish in his right hand before putting into his mouth.
He then drinks half a pint of beer to swallow it before opening his mouth to show his pals that he had gulped it down.
Coles admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal during the incident which took place during September 2018.
RSPCA prosecutor Lindi Meyer showed Exeter magistrates court the video that was made by Coles’ girlfriend who posted it on social media.
Miss Meyer said:”This case relates to the defendant swallowing a live goldfish and washing it down with half a pint of alcohol.”
His girlfriend posted the video entitled ‘he ate my fish’ and Coles told RSPCA investigators it was ‘just a stunt for social media’.
The court heard Coles was ‘amused and bemused’ by the investigation saying it was ‘only a goldfish‘.
“Only a goldfish” – Coles has never shown any remorse for his actions and found it amusing that the cruel death of a helpless goldfish warranted an investigation
Vet expert David Martin said the goldfish was still alive when it was swallowed and took a swig of alcohol to wash it down.
Mr Martin said goldfish can feel pain and would have died from a deprivation of oxygen.
Miss Meyer said tree surgeon Coles was egged on by two other people who laughed as he carried out the act.
She said:”He caused the death of the animal. There was never any other outcome from his actions.”
She said he had been drinking alcohol and showed no remorse and had been amused and bemused by the RSPCA inquiry and he valued the fish in a ‘trivial nature’.
A probation officer said Coles was ‘a class clown’ who showed off in front of people.
She said he was ’embarrassed and ashamed’ by what he had done.
She said:”It is a very unpleasant offence.”
Solicitor Jeremy Tricks, defending, said Coles suffers with ADHD and depression and anxiety.
He said:”He has very poor decision making skills. It was an idiotic and stupid mistake but there is no malice in him.”
He said people watch him ‘do something amusing’.
After the case RSPCA Inspector John Pollock said:”We are asked why prosecute for a goldfish but they feel pain and have a spine.
“We will deal with it whether it is a large or small creature that has suffered.
“This is the first time in my 30 year career that I have had a prosecution like this but there have been ones in the past when there was the Neknominate craze.
“The expert veterinary evidence is that the goldfish would have drowned in beer content and his stomach acids. If a goldfish was put in a glass of acid then people would be jumping up and down about it and ringing us up.
” This goldfish would have suffered a great deal. It would have dissolved alive in the stomach acids.
“This goldfish was a prize at a fair. We are very much against live animal prizes and some councils have outlawed them.
“At the end of this fair we got lots of calls about goldfish being dumped on the ground. They get easily stressed, even with the acoustics of being thrown about in a plastic bag that they come in.”
Sentencing | 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and five rehab days. Costs and charges totalling £385. Five-year ban on owning fish (expires March 2024).
CONVICTED (2018) | Martin Frederick Jones, born c. 1986, of Park Road, Ellesmere Port CH65 0DH – captured on CCTV battering a terrified dog.
Puppy Millie was subjected to a vicious attack by her owner, Mark Frederick Jones
Father-of-seven Martin Frederick Jones pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on March 7, 2018
He was spotted by two horrified witnesses hitting his golden labrador puppy Millie near Ellesmere Port bus station.
The shocking incident was captured on CCTV and shows Jones assaulting the defenceless dog.
In the footage Millie runs out into the road and is caught by Jones, who grabs her and punches her multiple times in the side, before pulling her back to the pavement.
Wirral magistrates court was told how the two female witnesses had got off a bus and saw Jones yank the dog, before she ran into the road.
When Jones got the dog back he hit her on her side and the witnesses reported Millie cowered and seemed very scared.
The women were so worried about the dog they decided to follow Jones home and saw him further yank Millie with “uncalled for force.”
Chris Murphy prosecuting said: “The women saw the dog shaking and reported that it appeared timid.
“The incident was reported to the RSPCA and the CCTV of the incident was given to vet Holly Jones who also examined the dog.
“The vet expressed concern for the welfare of the dog and Millie was taken from the family home.
“When she examined her Millie seemed very reserved and anxious, although there were no visible bruises she pointed to mental trauma the dog had gone through.
“When the defendant was interviewed by the RSPCA he accepted responsibility and said he had done it to “make her understand.”
The court heard Jones suffers from mental health problems including Aspergers and ADHD and had no previous convictions.
Scott McCrimmon, defending, said Jones was a family man, had seven children and had always owned dogs.
He said: “Millie is a family pet and the children have been missing her.
“He admits he overreacted and caused trauma to Millie, when he was in a blind panic.
“He accepts he used force to control the dog and handled it very poorly.”
Sentencing Jones District Judge Nick Sanders said: “You went over the top, Millie was a young dog that didn’t understand what was going on.
“What you did was in no way helping her understand, you lost your temper.
“You need to take a long hard look at the way you treat animals.”
Millie will now be made available for rehoming
RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes said: “This was a vicious attack on a completely defenceless dog which is just simply unacceptable.
“The CCTV captures Millie breaking away from her owner and running into a road, the cars are seen to be slowing down and as Jones catches up with his dog he unleashes a number of heavy blows which he said where ‘to confuse her and make her understand’.
“However this would only have had the effect of inflicting pain and resulting in the dog becoming scared of Jones.
“Beating a dog is never acceptable and is certainly not a nice thing to witness. Jones beat poor Millie in front of numerous members of the public in broad daylight seemingly unfazed.
“Thankfully two brave witnesses came forward to assist in the investigation and after CCTV enquiries recovered two clips of the incident, we were able to locate Jones and remove Mille from his abusive care.
“After waiting many months for this case to come to trial today, Millie can now look forward to finding a loving forever home.”
Sentencing | A total of £270 fines, costs and charges. Banned from keeping animals for a mere three years (expired November 2021).
