CONVICTED (2012) | Allan Staughton, born 8 October 1989, of Elmside, Littleport, Ely CB6 1LJ – put his girlfriend’s cat in a tumble drier and posted the footage on YouTube.
Allan Staughton put the tabby cat, called Princess, in the tumble dryer in his former home in Roman Gate, Godmanchester, on June 14, 2012, and turned it on three times.
Magistrates were shown the film he uploaded to YouTube and another forum, titled “You must see this – it will crack you up”.
The video showed the cat being put into the machine as Staughton said she was going for ‘a tumble’.
The machine was turned on with the cat spinning inside for 12 seconds before Staughton opened the door.
The cat was on her back in the bottom of the machine. Staughton then spun it twice more.
The RSPCA tracked Staughton down after the incident was reported by local newspaper The Hunts Post after a concerned forum member contacted them. He was found outside a pub in Godmanchester on July 4, 2012.
Robert Starr, prosecuting said that in interview he said that he thought it was funny and did it because he was having a bad day.
Vet Helen Dennis told magistrates that Princess would have been severely traumatised by the ordeal and it would have been akin to a form of torture for her.
She suffered a broken tooth and a tongue injury in the incident.
The cat had belonged to Staughton’s partner of four-and-a-half years. The relationship broke down over the incident.
Staughton admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
The court heard that he suffers from attention deficit disorder.
Celia Chignell, presiding magistrate, told Staughton: “We see what you did was a form of torture and the aggravating features in this offence are so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence is appropriate.”
Sentencing | jailed for 56 days. Banned from keeping animals for life with the right of appeal after five years.
