CONVICTED (2024) | Mark Williams, born 13 July 1985, of The Deanes, Tiverton EX16 5GT – kicked his partner’s pet chihuahua and threw him 20 feet across a room.
Williams, who was once hailed as a hero after jumping into a canal to rescue a dog in distress, became so angry that he punched his own television and partially throttled his girlfriend before venting his rage on her tiny dog. The attack took place in the presence of a four-year-old boy.
Nigel Wraith, prosecuting, said Williams had been in a volatile on-off relationship with the woman for some time. She was living at his home on March 31, 2023, when an argument started after he returned home drunk.
Teacup chihuahua Smoothie was severely injured in the drink-fuelled attack but survived
He became jealous, threw her mobile telephone against a wall, punched and broke his television and put one hand around her throat, obstructing her airway and leaving her gasping for breath.
He then kicked her teacup chihuahua, Smoothie, before picking the dog up and throwing her out of the living room and into the kitchen where she hit the oven door and could be heard yelping in pain.
The owner reckoned Williams threw the dog the distance of three small cars parked end to end.
The dog suffered injuries to her jaw and hips.
Williams admitted intentional strangulation and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
Williams’ lawyer Evie Dean said her client was addressing his use of alcohol and seeking help for “mental health issues”.
Sentencing | jailed for 14 months, suspended for two years; 120-day alcohol abstinence tag; relationship course; 120 hours of unpaid community work. No ban.
CONVICTED (2023) | Liam White, born 6 July 1988, previously of Tarka Way, Crediton – used a hammer to kill a cat with unexplained injuries.
White claimed he found his pet cat dying and decided to put her out of her misery with a hammer. He then dumped her body in the communal bin area of his block of flats.
His lawyer told the court his actions were inappropriate but “well-intentioned”. She conceded her client had made the wrong decision by not taking the cat to a vet to be euthanised and acted in a brutal way.
The cat’s body was found about two weeks later in a bag for life with her litter tray.
A post-mortem found she had a fractured jaw and femur.
The attack on the unnamed animal came a few weeks after a witness saw White headbutting his then partner. He had subjected the woman to domestic violence on other occasions.
White pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm, battery and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
The court heard that White, who is said to have unstable personality disorder, has 17 previous crimes on his record, some for violence, but nothing domestic.
His lawyer said he had now moved on with his life and a new partner.
Judge Anna Richardson said the background to the violence was a volatile relationship. She said how the cat became injured was not part of her sentencing but she accepted White found it that way.
“Rather than take it to a vet you believed it was not going to survive. You did not know that and you responded by killing it using a hammer. I accept you were trying to prevent it suffering further.”
She said White is a good prospect for rehabilitation and made no order to disqualify him from keeping animals in the future.
Sentencing | 20-week suspended sentence with an alcohol abstinence requirement of 120 days. He was also made subject to a five-year restraining order not to contact the victim. He was ordered to complete a Building Better Relationships programme.
CONVICTED (2021) | Mark Haycock, born 30 December 1970, and wife Alison Haycock, born 7 April 1972, of Romans Way, Tiverton EX16 6HB – left their elderly dog with untreated painful scabs and sores
Mark and Ali Haycock are banned from owning animals until 2031 after failing to treat their elderly dog’s ailments
The Haycocks pleaded guilty to animal welfare offences in relation to 13-year-old Sheltie/Shih-Tzu cross Bella. The dog was rescued by the RSPCA after concerns were raised about her health and wellbeing by members of the public.
Hairless Bella was in a pitiful condition when rescued from her neglectful owners by the RSPCA
RSPCA Inspector Charlotte Coggins began an investigation after rescuing Bella from the couple’s home in March 2020.
She said: “I entered the lounge, and the smell of the room was foul.
“This is where I initially saw a dog who I now know as Bella with hardly any fur curled up on the sofa. Bella was scratching a lot, and her skin appeared and smelled infected. Her nails were also very overgrown.”
Bella was taken to a vet who found that she was suffering from a chronic and severe skin disease with associated infection and hair loss. She also had open wounds over the shoulder where she scratched herself and issues with her eyes and ears.
Mrs Haycock had previously taken Bella to see a vet for her skin condition and had been given oral medications and topical treatments, but despite being told the condition was a long-term one that would need monitoring, she was last been seen by a vet in September 2019 and failed to seek help for Bella as her condition deteriorated.
Inspector Coggins added: “A reasonable owner would present the dog, or at least contact the surgery if the dog had failed to improve as a result of any prescribed treatment. It is the failure to follow-up on the initial treatment, which has resulted in her sadly suffering unacceptably.
“Our plea to all animal owners is to make sure they always receive care and treatment from veterinary experts when they need it.
“If people are struggling to cover the costs, there are a number of charities which provide help for veterinary care for pet owners in genuine financial difficulties. People can also work with their vet to spread the cost of treatment.
“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 veterinary 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 court heard in mitigation it was well-intentioned but incompetent care and that there is extreme remorse.
Bella has transformed in the RSPCA’s care and is to be rehomed
Since being rescued, Bella has been receiving the treatment she needs and has been transformed by animal care assistants at the charity. She will now be found a loving new home.
Sentencing: Alison Haycock – three-year conditional discharge. Mark Haycock – two-year conditional discharge. Both were ordered to pay a total of £196 in costs and charges. Both were banned from owning animals for 10 years (expires January 2031).
CONVICTED (2020) | Ian Ware, born 13/05/1946 , and Ann Ware, born c. 1960, both of Holly Road, Tiverton EX16 6HZ – failed to take their badly injured cat to the vet
Ann Ware and husband Ian are banned from keeping animals until March 2023
The RSPCA visited the home of Ian and Ann Ware in September 2019 after receiving a call from a concerned member of the public.
The grey and white cat, known as Snowball, was rushed to a vet by RSPCA Inspector Charlotte Coggins where he had to be put to sleep because of the severity of his condition.
Inspector Coggins said: “The pinna was damaged, leaving the cartilage of the ear canal exposed.
“Around the ear canal there was a deep deficit in the skin and underlying muscle to the extent that the bone of the skull could be seen rostral to the ear canal.
“The diagnosis from the vet was of a chronic severe deep infection of the ear canal and surrounding tissues. The exact cause could not be ascertained on clinical examination but it may have resulted from a bite to the area from another cat or rodent.
“As a result of this infection, the vet found Snowball to be suffering severe pain and that the infection had been present for some time based on the severity and extent of tissue destruction including damage to the cartilage of the ear canal.”
The defendants admitted causing unnecessary suffering to Snowball by failing to provide prompt or effective professional veterinary care and attention for the severe and chronic infected wound of the left ear canal and surrounding tissue.
Sentencing: four-week curfew order; £110 each in court costs. Banned from keeping animals for three years (expires March 2023).
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 (2019) | farmer Michael Rice, born c. 1950, of High View, Woodland Head, Crediton EX17 5HE – kept cattle in appalling conditions; failed to treat very poorly cow.
Officers described the living conditions for the animals throughout the farm as ‘generally poor’, as several animals did not have a dry lying area and had access to sharp objects which posed a risk to their health such as farm machinery and rusty nails.
The case was brought by Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service following an investigation into concerns for the welfare of his cattle.
Trading standards officers and a vet from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) visited the farm and discovered a bovine which appeared to have been unable to stand for several weeks with no access to water or supplementary feed.
Rice had previously been advised by a vet that if the animal’s health didn’t improve it should be culled. However several weeks later, when trading standards visited his farm, he had made no attempt to do so.
The vet believed that the animal was subjected to ‘avoidable and unnecessary suffering’ under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 both by failure to cull without delay and failure to isolate the sick animal and house it in suitable accommodation with dry comfortable bedding.
District Judge Matson described the conditions on the farm as ‘appalling’ and the condition the bovine was left in as ‘extremely upsetting and distressing’.
Sentencing | 16-week suspended prison sentence, fined £6,970 and banned from keeping animals for 10 years.
CONVICTED (2019) | Edward Shere, born c. 1989, of Gingerland Livery Yard, Gingerland Farm, Colebrooke Lane, Cullompton EX15 1PD – shot a pet pig three times before dragging him, still alive, onto a trailer with a winch
Callous Edward Shere caused pet pig Ivor tremendous suffering in his final moments
Shere, a former stocksman with the Portman Hunt, had denied harming the pig but was found guilty of causing him unnecessary suffering.
RSPCA officials said Shere was contacted on the hunt’s emergency line by Ivor’s owner.
The owner asked Shere to humanely destroy the pet pig at a smallholding. Vets had advised the animal be euthanised.
However, the defendant used an ‘incorrect weapon’ and failed to properly and humanely euthanise Ivor, who weighed 340 kilograms.
Shere then winched the much-loved family pet onto a trailer while he still alive in front of his owners, who had gathered to say their final goodbyes.
RSPCA chief inspector Mike Butcher, who investigated for the animal welfare charity, said: “It’s essential all animals are treated in a way which safeguards their welfare at all times, throughout their entire life.
“Many animals have their lives ended due to being put down as a result of illness, age or infirmity.
“At this upsetting final stage of an animal’s life, owners place their full trust in those employed to humanely put animals to sleep to do so competently and without causing the type of suffering Ivor sadly experienced.”
Sentencing | disqualified for transporting (but not keeping) animals for three years. 120 hours of unpaid work; £750 fine.
CONVICTED (2018) | William Douglas Dolley, born March 1969, of Holwell Farm, Collipriest, Tiverton, Devon EX16 4PT – let a calf starve and left dead sheep in a field
Dolley was caught with piles of bones, dead animals and sick cattle on his farm in Devon twice in 11 months by trading standards inspectors.
He had been due to stand trial over a previous inspection in 2017.
But when a vet and trading standards officer returned to Holwell Farm a on 7 February 2018 they found two dead sheep lying unburied in fields where other animals were grazing.
They also discovered piles of rubbish, old bones and an emaciated black bullock calf lying on its side in a cattle shed with no food or water.
Its condition was so bad that it was killed immediately on the orders of the vet.
Dolley admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the bullock, three charges of failing to dispose of carcasses and one of failing to prevent animals having access to by-products.
Sentencing: Jailed for 18 weeks. Banned from keeping animals for five years (expires December 2023).
