CONVICTED (2010) | Anthony Parker, born c. 1981, of 24 Holyrood Walk, Hartlepool TS25 3EY – killed a Syrian hamster in a microwave.
Sadistic animal abuser Anthony Parker was only banned from keeping animals for five years
The tiny hamster suffered a horrific death at the hands of her evil owner.
When police came to Parkers home in the early hours of February 23, 2010, he admitted putting his pet in the cooker after a drunken row with his girlfriend.
The court heard he told officers: “I didn’t mean to kill her. She was the best hamster I ever had. She was called Suzie.”
2019 photo of animal torturer Anthony Parker
Her body was found in a wheelie bin outside the house with burns to her mouth. A post-mortem determined that she had died from exposure to radiation.
In addition to a nine-week custodial sentence, Parker was banned from keeping animals for five years (expired 2015).
While Parker’s landlord, Housing Hartlepool, had threatened to take a hardline against the animal abuser by evicting him, in the end they merely “demoted” his tenancy.
CONVICTED (2009) | Marc Ian Young, born 07/02/1980, from 9 Hawthorne Terrace, Ferryhill DL17 9AX and Paul Nigel Brown, born 27/04/1953, of 18 Lorton Road, Redcar TS10 4LY – kept dozens of diseased and injured dogs in appalling conditions on a farm.
Marc Ian Young of Ferryhill, who together with his boss Paul Nigel Brown, was convicted of cruelty to 144 dogs
Young and Brown were together convicted of 16 animal cruelty offences after 144 dogs were found mangy and unfed at Bog Hall Farm, Mordon, near Sedgefield, County Durham.
Prosecutor John Ellwood told the court how an investigation by the RSPCA led to a raid on Brown’s Bog Hall Farm in the spring of 2008.
More than 144 cross-breeds, lurchers and terriers were found living in cages, animal stables and even in the back of unused vehicles.
Dirt and faeces were compacted on floors, and the animals had what little sustenance they could get when dried food was thrown on top of this.
Seven dogs had infected wounds, 26 had dental problems and 13 dogs were close to death through emaciation.
All the animals had the parasites living in their fur.
Horrifyingly, dead dogs were being burned on a rubbish heap, and inspectors found the charred remains of one animal during a visit.
Brown would also apparently sell the dogs when he could for commercial gain and was seen as the leader of the enterprise, with Young in his pay.
Some 35 of the dogs had to be put down following the discovery.
In all, the case cost the RSPCA approximately £29,000 in veterinary bills, £14,000 in legal fees and an estimated £15,000 to investigate.
Brown pleaded guilty to charges of animal cruelty between February 27 and April 24, 2008.
His offences ranged from failing to provide sufficient food and veterinary care to a “catch-all” charge of failing to provide adequate care, said prosecutor John Ellwood.
Young had denied 11 of the animal welfare charges against him, which included:
Failing to give 102 dogs a wholesome diet;
Failing to provide necessary care for 144 dogs with flea and lice infestation;
Failing to give veterinary care to 26 dogs suffering from severe dental disease;
Failing to treat infected wounds on eight dogs;
Failing to obtain veterinary treatment for a dog with a fractured leg.
Young told the court he was overwhelmed with the workload and was following the orders of his boss, Paul Nigel Brown, who was the farm’s tenant at the time.
Finding Young guilty on all charges, Judge Simon Hickey said: “Mr Young admitted he knew it was wrong to throw food on the filthy floor of the pens. He knew he was failing to provide adequate care for the animals. He was embarrassed by the finding of excrement and smell of urine.
“This was prolonged neglect over a period of eight weeks. There must have been commercial motivation.
“You have to face up to the consequences of these animals suffering.”
He told Young: “I don’t accept the defence of only doing what you were told to do.”
Speaking after the hearing, RSPCA inspector Lucy Hoehne said: “We are happy with the sentences and happy they won’t be able to keep dogs for a number of years.”
Sentencing:
Brown and Young were each sentenced to eight weeks in jail, suspended for 12-months.
They were both ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service and pay £260 costs.
Brown was banned from keeping dogs for 10 years (expired December 2019). Young was banned from keeping dogs for five years (expired December 2014).
CONVICTED (2009) | Gary David Adamson (26/01/1971) of Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, Owen Anthony Batey (26/11/1968) from Middlesbrough, Christopher John Burgess (24/11/1966) from Mansfield, Kenneth Harold King (14/12/1973) from Newark, Jane Adamson aka Jane Barnes (22/12/1970) of Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, Claire Amanda Parker (15/12/1964) from Gainsborough, and Mohammed Nasir Farooq (16/09/1975) of Bordesley Green, Birmingham
, Clockwise from top left Claire Parker, Gary Adamson, Mohammed Farooq, Owen Batey
Members of one of the UK’s biggest dog-fighting gangs were caught as part of two major investigations into dog fighting by the RSPCA’s special operations unit named Operations Cannon and Castle.
Separate footage obtained by an undercover reporter working on a BBC Panorama investigation into organised dog fighting and a notorious gang, the Farmers’ Boys, also provided the RSPCA with vital video evidence to bring the gang to justice.
Video footage captured Adamson readying his dog for a fight
In a secretly recorded video shown in the programme, Gary Adamson proudly boasts that a dog named as Pablo suffered a “real good ragging” in a half-hour fight with Kenneth King’s dog Chief for £500 prize money. Adamson pulls up the nervous-looking dog by his collar at one point to show multiple white scars on his face, a ripped ear and some stapled wounds.
Gary Adamson – the self-described”Don King” of dog fighting
Adamson was caught on camera naming some of those who attended, while others were tracked down by the RSPCA.
The journalist secretly filmed Adamson’s now ex wife Jane Adamson (now Jane Barnes) at a dog fight.
Jane Adamson / Jane Barnes
When Jane Adamson was interviewed by police, she told officers: “I just did what I had to do.”
Searches were carried out at several premises, including the homes of the defendants. Equipment including several treadmills, training aids, home veterinary kits and prescription only drugs were all discovered by the RSPCA inspectors who investigated the case. Many of the individuals also had elaborate kennel set-ups at their home addresses, along with several pit bull type dogs that had scars from previous fights.
‘Fighting’ dog chained up at Gary Adamson’s home
During a search of Claire Parker’s home, RSPCA inspectors discovered a blood stained fighting pit constructed in the garage. This is believed to be the pit where the fight described by Adamson was held. The inspectors also found three pit bull type dogs, an elaborate set of kennels and treadmills used to train the animals at Parker’s premises.
Dog badly injured after being forced by Adamson’s evil gang to participate in a fight
Adamson boasted how he was the “Don King of dog fighting” and was a top breeder and trader of bull terriers.
Details of Charges and Sentencing
Claire Parker, aka Claire Page, denied all the charges but was found guilty of being present at a dog fight, keeping a premises for dog fighting and possessing three pit bull dogs. She was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison and banned from keeping animals for ten years (expired 2019).
Her late-husband John Parker was also due to stand trial on dog fighting charges, but he died before the hearing while in prison for other offences.
Gary Adamson
Gary Adamson of 9 Seymour Avenue, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees TS16 0LD pleaded guilty to six charges in connection with illegal dog fighting and was given 23 weeks in prison. He was banned from keeping animals for life.
Mohammed Farooq of 43 Daniels Road, Birmingham B9 5XP was found guilty on two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and possessing training equipment for dog fighting and was jailed for the maximum 26 weeks. Banned from keeping all animals for life.
Owen Batey of 44 Cannock Road, Middlesbrough TS3 7NU was given 23 weeks in jail, having admitted setting two pit bulls on each other, being present at a dog-fight and owning a pit bull. He was disqualified from keeping animals for life.
Christopher Burgess of 44 Nursery Court, Nursery Street, Mansfield NG18 2AJ pleaded guilty to one charge of keeping a banned dog and received 160 hours’ community service.
Kenneth King of Island Cottage, High Street, East Markham, Newark NG22 0QJ admitted eight charges including taking part in dog fights. He was jailed for 23 weeks and banned from keeping animals for life.
Jane Adamson previously of Pacific Drive, Stockton on Tees (current address tbc) admitted one charge: causing unnecessary suffering to a pit bull terrier type dog named Pablo by failing to obtain veterinary attention in respect of injuries sustained in a fight. She was given an 18-month community order and told to pay £150 in costs. She was banned from keeping dogs for 10 years (expired 2019).
An unidentified 17-year-old youth was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and keeping dog-fighting equipment. He was given a six-month referral order and a five-year ban from keeping or owning animals.
Several members of the gang appealed, but these were largely unsuccessful.
A fight broke out inside the court building during which Kenneth King received head injuries. Police had to use a taser to overpower Christopher Burgess.
Claire Parker was sentenced to four and a half years in jail after she crashed her BMW at 80mph and killed a devoted couple.
Lincoln Crown Court heard Parker was estimated to be driving her BMW at 80mph when she crossed over double white lines and moved out to pass two cars and a double decker bus before colliding with the couple’s vehicle.
CONVICTED (2009) | Daniel Grant Winspear, born 18/11/1990, of 44 Arncliffe Gardens, Hartlepool TS26 9JF – smashed a tortoise to pieces with a baseball bat
Drunken Daniel Winspear, who was aged 18 at date of conviction, carried out the attack on the defenceless creature – which is a protected species – at a house party.
Winspear was found in the conservatory in the early hours of May 23, 2008, with the bat in his hand and the dismembered tortoise next to him.
An RSPCA statement said: “This was an act of gruesome, sadistic cruelty and the magistrates sentence, including the disqualification, reflected not only the magistrates’ disapproval but society’s disapproval of such acts.”
Winspear had been invited to the party by a cousin who was already there. But on arrival he was “very drunk.”
John Ellwood, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said: “While at the house he took a small baseball bat and smashed a tortoise to death.”
The teenager who lived at the house then came into the conservatory and saw “the mess everywhere” and asked what had happened.
Mr Ellwood added: “Mr Winspear appeared to have the baseball bat in his hand and was smiling and accused one of the other boys of having done it.
“On further inquiries he admitted he had done it and was told to leave.
“The young man and his friends tried to clean up the mess and put the tortoise in the bin.
“Unfortunately they kept finding bits of the tortoise splattered about the conservatory and the smell was truly grim.”
The pet’s owners rushed back from their holiday in Blackpool after hearing about the sickening act, and they immediately called the RSPCA.
A vet from the charity said the tortoise had not died instantly but “suffered between the repetitive blows.”
In interview with RSPCA inspectors, Winspear said he was too drunk to remember doing it.
The chairman of the magistrates’ bench, Katie Brown, said: “The photos we saw made sickening viewing and you really should have faced up to what you did.
“You committed this while under the influence of alcohol which is indicative of the perils of alcohol abuse.”
Winspear was allowed to appeal against the ban on looking after animals after five years.
Sentence: 18-month community order with 250 hours of unpaid work; costs of £1,652.71 to cover RSPCA, vet and solicitor bills; banned from keeping animals for 10 years (expired March 2019).
CONVICTED (2007) | David ‘Dave’ Smith, born c. 1949, of Adam and Eve Cottage, Northdene Avenue, Seaham SR7 7BH – killed thousands of ex-racing greyhounds with a bolt gun and buried them at his home
Dave Smith from Seaham is said to have killed thousands of former racing greyhounds with a bolt gun. Despite this, he was never charged with animal cruelty.
The prosecution of Dave Smith was brought by the Environment Agency after police ruled that the ‘Seaham Slaughterer’ as he came to be known would not face criminal charges in relation to the destruction of the dogs.
It had been claimed that Smith had shot about 10,000 dogs, but magistrates were told the figure was nowhere near that. It was conceded that he had put down two dogs a week for two years at a cost of £10 a time.
The shocking footage shows Smith returning moments later with the bodies of the same two dogs in a wheelbarrow
While Smith was questioned by police, it was confirmed the bolt gun used to kill the retired greyhounds was held legitimately.
There are unconfirmed reports that Smith also disposed of dogs for the police and local authority.
Enquiries by the RSPCA concluded that there was no indication animal cruelty laws had been broken.
A spokeswoman for the charity said if used properly a bolt gun was a humane method of killing dogs and there had been no evidence that Smith had killed the greyhounds inhumanely.
Following a six-month investigation, the Environment Agency prosecuted him under legislation used to restrict the dumping of waste.
Smith admitted a single charge under the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations that, on 12 July 2006 he disposed of waste – the bodies of deceased dogs – on land without a permit.
Greyhound protection group Greyhound Action (now defunct) held a protest outside the court and said it was disgraceful that the dog racing industry itself was not in the dock.
Sentencing: £2,000 fine for environmental breaches
Dave Smith still runs a building supplies business Dave Smith Builders Merchants & DIY (website here) based in Lord Street, Seaham SR7 7JH. At the time of his prosecution, many local people came forward to support Smith, claiming that he was only meeting a demand from the greyhound industry.
In June 2019 a documentary on animal cruelty within the greyhound industry by Irish TV channel RTE entitled RTÉ Investigates: Greyhounds Running for Their Lives highlighted the Smith case and made the shocking discovery that many Irish knackeries, including Larry Earle Ltd of Camolin, Co. Wexford, and John Styles & Son Ltd in Kyletalesha Townland, Co. Laois , will willingly provide a similar service today.
CONVICTED (2007) | Maxine Askew, born c. 1971, and husband Paul Askew, born 14 October 1976, formerly of Briardale Way, Easington, County Durham, and as at March 2019 believed to be living at Dixon Rise, Horden, Peterlee SR8 4HX – failed to seek veterinary help for their emaciated, lice-ridden pony
Maxine and Paul Askew admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the male bay pony whom the RSPCA had discovered in a distressed condition at an allotment in Hackworth Road, Blackpool.
The yearling was examined by a vet and was found to be very thin. He was covered in live lice and eggs and had sustained large areas of hair loss.
The pony weighed only 101kg, but by August 2006, after being in the care of the RSPCA, he more than doubled his body weight to 233kg.
The Askews were banned from keeping horses for ten years.
When interviewed, Paul Askew said he had only had the colt for four to five months and he had been in the best of health “until it got these fleas”, which he said he treated with powder.
When questioned, Maxine Askew said her husband had been treating the fleas and she described the pony as a “fussy eater”.
Sentencing: total fines and costs of £875 each. Disqualified from keeping horses for ten years (expired January 2017).
