CONVICTED (2024) | Carrie Hansford aka Carrie Matthews, born c. 1980, of Wickham Court, Totton, Southampton SO40 3GJ – caused a 10-year-old dog “unimaginable suffering” after leaving him to starve to death in an abandoned flat.
Heartless Carrie Hansford left her dog behind to die after moving in with a new boyfriend
Hansford left Staffy Rocky alone in her property on Junction Road, Southampton, after she moved in with a new boyfriend.
The court heard she saw Rocky the day after he died – December 17, 2022 – but left him there to rot.
Rocky died a slow, painful death from starvation and dehydration and weighed only 6.75kg when he was found.
Eventually a dog warden found Rocky’s emaciated body surrounded by his own faeces.
A statement from an expert vet witness said: “In the kitchen area there were hundreds of faeces deposits.
“There were also a number of household items on the floor along with a deceased male brindle-and-white Staffordshire bull terrier-type dog. The dog was wearing a slack collar and the bony prominences were easily observed.”
The court heard that Rocky had died from starvation and dehydration. He weighed less than 7kg.
The vet’s statement explained the amount of faeces in the kitchen was consistent with Rocky having had access to food and water on a regular basis for a prolonged period.
It added: “However, at some point this must have stopped, and a lack of access to food caused Rocky to lose weight and arrive at an emaciated bodily condition.
“More importantly, at some point in time Rocky’s access to water must have also stopped, resulting in dehydration and death.
“In addition, Rocky would have been spending long periods of time in social isolation. As a social species, this would have affected the mental health of this animal.”
Hansford pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal between 7th August 2022 and 7th December 2022.
Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Mark Knight, the dog warden who discovered Rocky’s remains said it was one of the most distressing cases of animal abuse in his career.
The former veterinary nurse added: “It is clear the owner intended to leave the dog to die. She easily could have gotten assistance and help and that would’ve given the dog a chance.
“He had no chance being locked behind a door with no food or water.
“There were ripped packages, ripped everything, everywhere. The dog had been searching for food and trying to find a way to survive.
“As an animal warden, I am there for the welfare of animals. I felt raw emotion at that time.”
Mark described the punishment meted out to Hansford as “quite shocking”.
An RSPCA spokesperson said: “Dogs are completely reliant on their owners and to not provide for their needs is a breach of the law.
“Providing food, water and a suitable living environment are essential elements of that care.
“The vet highlighted that Rocky had been left without food and water for a prolonged period of time and the suffering Rocky endured as a result is unimaginable.”
Sentencing | four-month prison term, suspended for 12 months; 100 hours of unpaid work. A FIVE-year ban on keeping animals.
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) | Edward Ade, born 25 June 2004, of 178 Gershwin Road, Basingstoke RG22 4HL – filmed himself attacking a bleeding dog as she cowered away from him
Edward Ade’s dog Fendi had a broken spine and jaw and injuries inflicted using sharp objects
Ade pleaded guilty to an animal cruelty offence, following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.
RSPCA inspector Josephine Story, who investigated for the animal welfare charity, was on duty on February 17, 2023, when she received a call that highlighted a video relating to the abuse of a black and tan Doberman named Fendi.
Inspector Story said: “I was horrified by the look of terror on the dog’s face and by its behaviour indicating extreme stress. Having been verbally abused she was then hit at the end of the video.”
The short clip shows the terrified dog standing in a small space surrounded by three walls with blood on the wall behind her. She is pressed against the wall with her head down and doesn’t move during the recording.
The footage then zooms in on her head and back. Open wounds can be seen on both which are wet with blood.
Ade can be heard talking throughout, saying: “Had to pat on this b*tch, bust her head, bust her back. Yeah have you got anything else to say, you want to try and bite me still? Go on bite me, you b*tch, you b*tch.”
Inspector Story was joined by police when she visited Ade’s home to take the dog into immediate possession.
Vet Dr David Martin described how there must have been at least two severe beatings to her head, back, jaw and skin for between three and 14 days before Fendi was seized.
He said some injuries had been inflicted using sharp objects.
He said the dog would have experienced extreme pain and distress trying to eat with a broken jaw or walk with a broken spine.
Dr Martin said the fractures would have been immediately apparent to Ade when they occurred as they would have caused severe distress to Fendi and required substantial force to cause.
The report added that these are the sort of injuries normally seen in dogs that have been run over by a car.
Fendi, who has since been renamed, has now recovered and found a happy new home.
Sentencing | jailed for 26 weeks; £200 costs. Banned from keeping animals for life.
CONVICTED (2023) | Kurtis Nichols, born 5 July 1996, of Old Stables East Meon Road, Langrish, Petersfield GU32 1RN – caught with disturbing images of animal rape and child sexual abuse.
Sexual deviant Kurtis Nichols escaped a prison sentence despite being caught with images showing vile animal and child sexual abuse
Nichols was hauled before Portsmouth Crown Court after police found vile images on his devices at his previous address in Havant in February 2020.
The images included those of the worst kind and featured babies of six to 12 months being abused, as well as sexual activity with animals.
Nichols admitted three charges of making indecent images of children, possessing an extreme pornographic image, and possessing a prohibited image of a child. The offending period stretched into 2021.
The court heard that Nichols, of previous good character, suffered with “neuro diversity” issues with ADHD and mild autism and found it “difficult to connect with people”.
It was the defendant’s “desire to fit in” that had led him down the path of child abuse imagery with people in the online gaming community.
Nichols had not reoffended in the three-plus years since his foray into child abuse imagery – which judge Richard Shepherd said was an indication this was a temporary blip.
“In the years up to 2020 you were part of an online gaming community where the sexual abuse of children was discussed and you were given many still and moving images (of child abuse),” he said.
“The thing to remember is that every image you receive is a real child who has been sexually abused. Even worse, these children often know they have been pictured and filmed and even as adults they know these are still out there.
The judge said “very young children and animals were involved” with them in “distress”.
But judge Shepherd said Nichols had shown “genuine remorse” and referring to the defendant’s neuro diversity, added: “You joined the group to feel part of something.”
The judge opted to spare the defendant jail due to him having “good prospects of rehabilitation” and having not offended for over three years.
Sentencing | two-year jail term suspended for two years; told to complete a thinking skills program; 200 hours of unpaid work and 30 rehabilitation days; £425 in costs; subject to sex offender notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.
CONVICTED | for hare coursing: Hampshire travellers Leonard Pinnick, born 25 December 1986, of 83 Montgomery Road, Bitterne, Southampton SO18 4RX, Shane Jefferies, born c. 1996, of 3 Hornbeam Close, Botley, Southampton SO30 2SZ, Lloyd Jefferies, born 18 March 1988, of Tanhouse Lane, Botley, Southampton SO30 2SZ, Martin Eli Buckland born c. 1983, and Martin Tony Buckland, born 13 December 2003, of Church Farm, Hound Road, Netley Abbey, Southampton SO31 5JS
The five travellers were sentenced for hare coursing offences under sections 63 and 64 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
This is the first time Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary has secured charges and convictions under this particular legislation since it was introduced in April 2022.
On the evening of 18 January, 2023, police received a report that a group of people had driven onto farmland in the Itchen Abbas area of Winchester, damaging crops in the process, before they began hare coursing in a field.
Officers were deployed to the area and located the vehicles – a Mercedes and a Jeep – before the Jeep reversed and collided with a police car.
Once police detained the Jeep’s occupants, the vehicle was searched and officers located three lurcher dogs, five dead hares, bolt croppers and a lamp.
The Mercedes meanwhile left the scene and was followed by police to Southampton where the occupants were detained.
Inside the vehicle were two more lurcher dogs, two dead rabbits, a slingshot and a lamp.
Following enquiries, five people were charged with offences and pleaded guilty in Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 3 August:
Leonard Pinnick pleaded guilty to trespass with intent to search for or to pursue hares with dogs, and being equipped for searching for or pursuing hares with dogs.
Shane Jefferies pleaded guilty to trespass with intent to search for or to pursue hares with dogs, and being equipped for searching for or pursuing hares with dogs.
Lloyd Jefferies pleaded guilty to trespass with intent to search for or to pursue hares with dogs, being equipped for searching for or pursuing hares with dogs, criminal damage, and dangerous driving.
Martin Tony Buckland pleaded guilty to trespass with intent to search for or to pursue hares with dogs, and being equipped for searching for or pursuing hares with dogs.
Martin Eli Buckland pleaded guilty to trespass with intent to search for or to pursue hares with dogs, being equipped for searching for or pursuing hares with dogs, criminal damage, and dangerous driving.
Appearing at the same court on Monday 25 September, 2023, Lloyd Jefferies and Martin Eli Buckland were ordered to pay £550 compensation each to the landowner, covering the full £1,100 worth of damage caused to the crops.
Jefferies was also handed a 12 month driving ban with a requirement to complete an extended retest, a two year ban on owning dogs, a 12 month community order with a requirement to complete 200 hours unpaid work, and was ordered to pay £100 kennelling costs for the seized dogs, £85 court costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
Buckland was subject to the same costs and surcharge, as well as the same driving disqualification and dog ban. He was also handed a 12 month community order with a requirement to complete 50 hours unpaid work.
The vehicles’ passengers were sentenced as follows:
Martin Tony Buckland was handed a 12 month community order with a requirement to complete 40 hours unpaid work, a £40 fine, £100 kennelling costs, £85 court costs, £114 victim surcharge, and banned from owning dogs for two years.
Shane Jefferies was handed a 12 week curfew, a 12 month community order with a requirement to complete 40 hours unpaid work, a £40 fine, £100 kennelling costs, £85 court costs, £114 victim surcharge, and banned from owning dogs for two years.
Leonard Pinnick was handed an 18 month community order with a requirement to complete 60 hours unpaid work and attend a ‘Thinking & Skills Programme’. He was also ordered to pay a £40 fine, £100 kennelling costs, £85 court costs, £114 victim surcharge, and banned from owning dogs for two years.
The kennelling costs were recovered from all the defendants under Section 65 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act which was introduced last year.
Another passenger, a 17-year-old boy, was also arrested by police, and officers continue to work with the Youth Offending Team to reach a suitable outcome for him.
Police Staff Investigator Andrew Williams, from the Country Watch team, said: “Hare coursing is a scourge on our rural communities. It involves the senseless persecution of wildlife, whilst also making life miserable for innocent farmers and landowners, who suffer trespass and damage to their property which accompanies this type of offending.
“The Country Watch team take a very robust stance against hare coursing, and will do everything in our power to respond to reports, assist landowners and target the criminals responsible.
“Last year new legislation was introduced which is bolstering the police’s efforts to target hare coursers, bring them to justice and recover costs from them. I hope rural communities can be reassured that we are making the most of this legislation.
“We are coming into autumn now where we see the bulk of annual hare coursing reports. Please remain vigilant, and report any suspicious people or vehicles on private land to police. If a crime is in progress, dial 999.”
CONVICTED (2023) | Kyle McGailey, born 20 December 1998, of Peninsula Road, Winchester SO22 4PA – threw a cat down a flight of stairs.
McGailey, a violent career criminal, wept in the dock as he was given 20 weeks in prison for the shocking incident, which took place in Fair Oak, Eastleigh in June 2022.
Southampton Magistrates Court heard how McGailey had bought the cat Nala for his partner in April 2022.
On June 22, 2022, the woman heard the cat meowing and screeching and found McGailey trying to get her from under the sofa with a baseball bat.
When he eventually got Nala out, he picked her up – at which point, she urinated on the sofa.
He then “stormed” over to the top of the stairs and threw her over the bannister whilst shouting “why did I get her for you”, the court heard.
Prosecuting, Sarah Wheadon told the court how the animal was left “motionless and floppy” at the bottom of the stairs.
She was found with blood around her right paw and when police and the RSPCA arrived, she was rushed to the vets.
The feline was found to have a fracture to her tooth below the gum line, tissue swelling and a skin tear to her paw.
When interviewed, McGailey said her paw was not like that when he saw her, denying ever harming the animal.
But Ms Wheadon added that his story was not consistent with the RSPCA’s findings.
Delivering his sentence, District Judge Peter Greenfield said the cat “must have been pretty distressed”.
“Clearly the cat could have been killed. [It was] just unnecessary.”
But mitigating, Will Day said his client accepted the injuries caused to Nala adding that he is “someone that struggled with anger and emotions”.
“[He is] very motivated to move forward and not commit further offences”, he said.
Mr Day added that McGailey “lost his temper” but that the cat only had discomfort for “three or four hours” and did not suffer long-lasting injuries.
McGailey admitted one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Sentencing | 20-week custodial. Banned from possessing an animal for life.
CONVICTED (2023) | backyard breeder Alexander Thomas Wilson, born 24 July 1990, of 47 Cranbourne Drive, Otterbourne, Winchester SO21 2ES – for the abandonment of four Presa Canario dogs found starved to death at his former home
Banned for life: Alex Wilson was convicted of cruelty to four Presa Canario-type dogs
Wilson, professional Thai boxer and founder/head coach at fitness centre Gorilla Muay Thai based in Shirley, Southampton, pleaded guilty to failing to adequately investigate or address signs of ill health in the dogs named Bonnie, Bully, Narla and Cleo, all of whom were found dead. The signs were loss of appetite, weight loss and excessive thirst..
Father-of-one Wilson also admitted failing to keep Narla and Cleo in a suitable living environment.
The RSPCA was contacted after the bodies of the four dogs, who are all believed to have come from the same litter. were discovered at an address in Wimpson Lane, Millbrook, Southampton.
Wilson with Bonnie, one of the four dogs found starved to death
Inside the conservatory was a dog crate containing the skeletal remains of Bonnie. She was partially concealed with a dog bed and appeared to have been half wrapped in a black bin bag. There were no bowls inside the crate.
Within one of the makeshift dog enclosures, were the skeletal remains of Bully, who was found inside the pen was a deep layer of wood shavings but no bowls.
Within another enclosure were the skeletal remains of two more dogs, Narla and Cleo. The enclosure contained an empty bowl and lots of faeces. The sides of the enclosure were damaged and appeared to have been chewed. Rat burrows were also observed within the enclosure.
The court heard that Wilson had decided to breed dogs which resulted in a large litter of 14 puppies but found himself in a position where not able to re-home dogs as quickly as he would have liked during lockdown.
He later took on another dog which bred with another of his dogs, resulting in another litter of ten dogs.
Wilson was said to have found himself in a situation where he was unable to cope and did not seek help or support.
He claimed the four dogs found dead inside the empty property were off their food and drinking more water than normal in the two days prior to their deaths, as well as stating he always provided the dogs with food and water.
A veterinary expert who examined the evidence said that the findings are not consistent with the dogs having been provided with water at the time of death. They also said it would not b expected that the dogs would be visibly losing weight after just two days off their food.
The vet report also highlighted how Narla and Cleo were found deceased within an environment containing a large number of faeces deposits, indicating the dogs were exposed to an unhygienic environment before and at the time of death. The vet said that the single empty stainless steel bowl found within the pen suggests they did not have access to drinking water at the time of death.
RSPCA inspector Patrick Bailey, who investigated for the charity, said after the hearing: “Pets are completely reliant on their owners to ensure their needs are met and they are kept safe and healthy. Owning an animal is a privilege – and ensuring appropriate care is a key part of the responsibility we have towards our pets. It’s so sad that, in this instance, that responsibility was not met.”
The offences took place between January 1 and April 6 2022 at a property in Wimpson Lane, Millbrook, Southampton SO16.
Sentencing | 16 weeks in jail suspended for 18 months; 300 hours of unpaid work over12 months; victim surcharge of £128. Prosecution costs of £17,570.08 to be paid from central funds. Lifetime ban on keeping animals suspended for 28 days to allow remaining animals to be rehomed.
Alex Wilson decided to start breeding dogs during lockdown, seeing it as a quick and easy way to make money. His first litter came from Presa Canario dogs GG and Boyka, who are pictured below. Note the cropped ears on Boyka:
This produced 12 puppies, of which two were still-born. Wilson advertised the surviving puppies online for up to £3,000 each, but there was little interest even after he dropped the price to around £1,500.
Ultimately two were sold, with the other eight dogs remaining with Wilson in makeshift kennels set up in his garden. One puppy died from leptospirosis, which is contracted from the urine of infected rats, with the others also having to be treated, courtesy of the PDSA, for this life-threatening condition.
The surviving puppies were named Bully, Narla, Cleo, Bonnie plus Thor, Tiger and Major.
The latter three were put to sleep after developing behavioural issues, with the other four ultimately succumbing to starvation after being abandoned.
Wilson then decided to breed again, this time from Presa Canario Boyka and a Staffy/pitbull cross named Kiki. This produced a litter of 10 puppies, all of which were sold.
Kiki was found locked in a small crate with no food or water
At this stage Wilson had seven dogs remaining in his care: Boyka, GG, Kiki plus Bully, Narla, Cleo and Bonnie. The latter four are now dead following their abandonment with the first three remaining with Wilson and due to be rehomed following his ban on keeping animals. At the time of writing (27 June 2023) we have heard that Boyka has also now been put to sleep but don’t know the reasons for that.
Wilson’s family (notably one of his two sisters) claimed online in his defence that he developed a life-threatening condition which required him to be hospitalised. They said he had to have eight operations and contracted sepsis. They claim that the four dogs died while he was in hospital, but it has been alleged by more than one source that they were already dead before he fell ill.
One source told us: “I looked after one of his dogs [Kiki] when he went into hospital. She was found in a small crate covered in her own mess and was very thin with urine burns.
Alex asked me to have her for a while. He’d told me she’d had the run of the house now that the other dogs weren’t there (this was before they found the bodies). He’d lied. This little girl was left in a tiny crate with no food or water. She was traumatised when I got her.
“She went to Alex’s dad as she was still owned by Alex and he wouldn’t release her. I’d found a rescue willing to take her but he wouldn’t sign her to me.
“I worry what will become of her and the other two he still has.”
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) | Ross Clifford, born February 1979, of Quicksilver Way, Andover SP11 6TT – kept injured birds and hedgehogs in unsuitable conditions.
Paedophile Ross Clifford kept injured birds and hedgehogs in squalid containers without food and water.
Convicted serial paedophile Ross Clifford operated a makeshift wildlife rescue centre from his home but was investigated by the RSPCA after they were alerted to dead and dying animals on the premises.
A vet examined the animals in Clifford’s care and found pigeons without their needs being met, including one severely injured pigeon that had been kept in a wicker basket with heavily solid newspaper on the base. There was no food or water or anywhere to perch.
Another pigeon was housed in a wardrobe in the bedroom, also without food or water.
A juvenile wood pigeon was found in a collapsible crate, with another collapsible crate used as a lid. A towel lined the base of the crate, and this was very heavily soiled with multiple faecal deposits, some fresh and others older and drying. No food or water was found in the crate.
Hedgehogs were also found in unsuitable conditions, including one found in a plastic cat carrier alongside a small quantity of dried food but no water.
The hedgehog was very lethargic and dehydrated with sunken eyes and pale mucous membranes as a result.
Two juvenile hedgehogs were found together in a collapsible crate which had wet shredded newspaper and tissue alongside food which appeared to be mouldy. They were both very lethargic and were lying motionless.
Another hedgehog, who had to be put to sleep because of the severity of his condition, was found in a plastic hamster cage without food and water with wet bedding which smelled of stale urine with an unsurvivable injury and dehydration.
In mitigation, the court heard that Clifford’s intentions in setting up a wildlife rescue at his home were good. He acknowledged that his premises were not set up to deal with wildlife rescue and that he fell short of the standards required by good practice.
Speaking about the case RSPCA Inspector Miranda Albinson said: “Injured captive wildlife is completely reliant on those providing care to ensure their needs are met. Sadly, in this instance, that responsibility was not fulfilled.”
Sentencing | 12-week custodial sentence to run concurrently to an existing sentence for unrelated offences.
CONVICTED (2022) | Artur Kramer, born c. 1974, and his wife Joanna Kramer, born c. 1977, of Flat 50, 60 Victoria Road, Woolston, Southampton SO19 9TZ – illegally imported 43 dogs from Poland.
Artur and Joanna Kramer
Polish nationals Artur and Joanna Kramer pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed business, illegally importing 43 dogs and illegally transporting dogs. They also admitted two money laundering offences involving a total of £16,050.
Ethu Crorie, prosecuting, said Joanna Kramer was visited by officers from Southampton City Council in September 2020 and given a written warning.
The unscrupulous pair continued to flout the law despite being told to cease their activities
However the Kramers carried on with their illegal activities. They were travelling to and from Poland “on average around every six weeks, bringing back ten falsely described puppy litters”.
They then sold the animals using websites including Pets4Homes and Gumtree, with each being listed for more than £1,000, the authority said.
Recorder Charles Morrison said Joanna Kramer played a leading role in what he described as a group activity that had continued for some time. He told the couple: “This was a business you were involved in to make money, without bothering to go through the usual steps to make it a lawful business.”
Sentencing | Joanna Kramer was handed a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years, for a money laundering offence involving £11,250. Her husband received a nine-month sentence, also suspended for two years, for a similar offence involving £4,800. There were no separate penalties for the other offences.
