Thomas admitted attacking the unnamed dog in Barrow on March 28 2024, contrary to sections 4(1) and 32(1) of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The condition or fate of the dog has not been reported.
Sentencing | 12-month community order with 15 rehabilitation requirement days; £357 in compensation, £80 fine, £114 surcharge.
12-month disqualification order relating to dogs
Horrific footage captured by a resident on Wednesday 8 November 2023 showed a man, later identified as Simon Thomas, repeatedly striking the young dog in the head with a large tool in a rear garden at a block of flats.
Volunteers from XL Bully Rescue and Foundation went to the animal’s aid. They were joined at the scene by police officers.
The dog, whom rescuers named Zeus, was taken by police to an animal hospital where he was treated for severe head injuries, bleed to the brain, smashed teeth and fractured ribs.
Thomas later handed himself into into a police station and was ultimately charged with animal cruelty.
Zeus, seemingly good-natured despite his ordeal, was initially held in police kennels pending their investigation, but was ultimately put to sleep because of his breed.
In court Thomas pleaded not guilty, with his defence being based on claims that he was not identifiable in the video footage. He was convicted after a short trial, however.
His sentencing hearing was on 2 February 2024.
Despite public outrage over the sadistic cruelty inflicted on a helpless animal and a Lady Freethinker petition urging the British justice system to impose an appropriate sentence on Thomashe walked free with his sole punishment a contribution towards costs and a ONE-year ban on keeping dogs.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “After a viral video of a man beating a dog, Ace, with a shovel, Status Dogs Unit officers arrested and charged a male. He was remanded and pleaded not guilty.
“At trial the charge was altered to a Section 4 (2) person responsible for allowing suffering, as he claimed it wasn’t him hitting the dog. He admitted that the dog was his.”
Speaking about the case animal rescue volunteers said that the brutal attack on Zeus was one of the worst things they’d ever witnessed.
The group said that the abandonment and abuse of XL Bullies had skyrocketed off the back of the UK Government’s banning of the breed, which was announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in September 2023.
One volunteer said: “Because [XL Bullies] are on the banned list, people are getting rid of them and this is where they’re ending up. There are loads more like him out there.”
The group said the government’s pledge to ban the breed had immediately sparked a rise in the dogs being abandoned and abused, with some owners threatened they will be evicted if they do not get rid of their dogs.
They said that many had been given away for free leading to them ending up in the hands of “the wrong people”.
One volunteer, who said rescues like theirs were overwhelmed, broke into tears as she described some of the cases they had been dealing with. She said: “We seized one from police last Monday that had been chained up outside and beaten.
“Yesterday we had two cases where they were thrown out of a car and abandoned.”
Sadly it is growing increasingly difficult to find safe places for the dogs.
“We are full,” the rescuer said. “No kennels are taking them now. Where do these animals go?
“There are hundreds and hundreds of XL Bullies suffering, and being put to sleep, and being abandoned.
“If something does not happen now, we are going to be seeing much, much more of this. This is absolute animal brutality.”
On the rise in attacks by the breed, she said: “It is not the dogs, it is the owners.
“These are dogs that are being beaten, severely abused, and when we take them after two days they are a completely different dog.
“They show no aggression, they don’t want to harm anybody, they just want you to love them.”
Sentencing | contribution towards costs. 12-month ban on keeping dogs (expires February 2025).
The two-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier, known as Brenda, was so emaciated her ribs, spine and hip bones were visible. She appeared timid and nervous.
The dog, who had given birth seven weeks earlier, was found tied up in a faeces and rubbish filled yard with no access to food, water or shelter.
She also had a painful long-standing eye condition and was severely underweight, with a vet giving her a body condition score of just one out of nine
Diana Kierpacz, a Roma gypsy originating from Poland, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to Brenda and failing to meet her needs following a prosecution by the RSPCA.
RSPCA inspector Demi Hodby had visited the house to investigate a report of concern over the welfare of a dog kept there.
In written evidence, Inspector Hodby said: “The dog looked to have recently given birth but there were no signs of the puppies. She had no access to water, shelter or food and her eyes were sunken into her head.
“All of the dog’s ribs were visible as well as her spine and hip bones.
“The dog was tethered to a fence using an extendable lead. The lead was tied to a piece of rope which was then attached to the dog’s collar. She was able to walk around but I was concerned she could injure herself as the tether was inappropriate.”
The court heard Kierpacz then appeared at the property and told inspector Hodby that Brenda was only outside for short periods and had access to water, despite none being present.
Kierpacz was told that Brenda’s living conditions were unacceptable and she was taken to the RSPCA’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital.
She was examined by a vet who told the court in written evidence that the main concerns were her chronic entropion (eye condition ) and her thin body condition.
The vet said: “The most likely cause of this thin state was the increased nutritional demands of pregnancy followed by lactation which in particular is very energy demanding, requiring the animal to consume approximately three times the amount of calories and other nutrients than normal.
“In addition, the choke chain collar and height from which the dog was tethered gave a high risk of injury by choking or strangling if she tried to get away, was fleeing danger or chasing something.”
When asked about the circumstances in which her dog was found, Kierpacz said she had left Brenda there for one hour while she went shopping and she’d been tethered outside so she could “enjoy the weather.”
She said she didn’t feel the way the dog was found tied up compromised her health or welfare and claimed that water had been provided which Brenda must have drunk.
She said she’d been aware of the entropion but had not re-presented her pet for veterinary treatment for 18 months.
Kierpacz said she was not a breeder and Brenda had mated accidentally with a friend’s dog.
Brenda had surgery for her long-standing eye condition and was also neutered. She has since been re-homed.
Other dogs owned by Kierpacz will also now be rehomed.
Magistrates said Brenda had been found in a “very neglected and emaciated state and there was clear evidence that this offending has gone on for a long time”.
Despite this, they only gave Kierpacz a one-year ban. This seems to have been her sole punishment.
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Welshman Jenkins was banned from owning dogs for just one year after causing suffering to a bull lurcher named Buddy, who is believed to have suffered an unexplained lip injury.
While the precise details of Buddy’s condition has not yet been disclosed by the mainstream media, there is evidence on social media that Jenkins and his teenage son (whom we can’t yet name due to his age) like to indulge in the persecution of wild animals for fun.
Taking into account his breed, it is possible that Buddy was injured after being forced to fight foxes or badgers but this must be treated as pure speculation at this stage.
We are advised by relatives of Karl Jenkins that Buddy recovered but this is unconfirmed.
In court, Jenkins admitted failing to act on October 16, 2022, when he didn’t take the poorly dog to see a vet for treatment, causing him to suffer.
Sentencing | 120 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within 12 months. Court costs of £120 and £114 victim surcharge. Disqualified from owning and keeping dogs, as well has being able to control or influence how they are kept, for 12 months (expires January 2025)
Curtis, a notorious animal hoarder well-known to the RSPCA and courts, was given a suspended custodial sentence and laughable five-year ban after horses, dogs, chickens, ducks and a goat were found in squalor at her home.
RSPCA inspectors were joined by police, vets, staff from the Dog’s Trust and officers from Torridge District Council, at the address in July 2022. They found a number of animals, some left without food, water or the vet care they needed.
A stallion, named Mid Morning Monkey, was found with an eye ulcer; checks with vets showed he’d been left with no treatment. Two other horses, named Symphonies Secret and Summer’s Place Jessica, were both found to have untreated dental disease.
Summer’s Place Jessica also had deformed legs and swollen knees. She had an uneven gait and was regularly seen tripping – particularly on her right fore leg. A vet later diagnosed chronic arthritis which had been left untreated.
The stables, which also housed a female goat alongside horses, were dirty with faeces and soiled straw. There was no clean bedding and no hay, food or water available.
Poultry, which was found standing in pens thick with faeces and soiled bedding with dirty water and no food, were also found to have untreated scaly leg. Inside the address, rescuers found more unsuitable living conditions for animals.
RSPCA deputy chief inspector Suzy Hannaby said: “The property was filthy and appeared to have been used as a dog kennel rather than for human habitation, the floors were bare and the only furniture present was for storage.
“There were no chairs or human beds. There was a strong smell of ammonia in the downstairs of the property. There were dog faeces and soiled straw and shavings on the floor, pieces of wooden board, dirty dog beds and two empty crates. There was no food or water available.”
Following an RSPCA prosecution Curtis was convicted of eight offences, some after trial.
Sentencing | 16-week custodial, suspended for 12 months; £10,000 towards costs plus £154 victim surcharge. FIVE-year ban (expires December 2028).
In October 2010 Curtis was given an ASBO due to excessive noise from 100 dogs kept at her property. She pleaded guilty to a noise abatement offence. She was also fined £2,000.
Police officers and animal welfare officers were forced to remove all but six of the dogs from Curtis after she failed to adhere to a court order to do so.
Following Curtis’s conviction, Devon & Cornwall Police Inspector Andy Lilburn said there was “no suggestion of cruelty here whatsoever”, adding that the dogs were “healthy, well-cared for, fed and watered”.
Curtis said she intended appealing the decision but said that “most of the dogs will have been destroyed by the time I raise the money”.
Following the appeal hearing in November 2010, she was ultimately given permission to keep 14 animals.
In December 2011 a further 34 dogs as well as 14 horses were seized from Curtis. After pleading guilty to breaching her ASBO, she was told she could only have a maximum of six dogs.
The RSPCA said at the time they were considering if any animal welfare offences had been committed and whether to prosecute.
In June 2013 Curtis was given a community sentence of 240 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £27,000 in court costs after keeping 33 horses and 34 dogs in appalling conditions.
Officials from the RSPCA found the premises to be covered in faeces and littered with hazards.
The court heard there was no outside grazing available and virtually no food and animals had to eat part of a stinging nettle bush.
Prosecutor Iain O’Donnell said: ‘Thirty-four dogs were removed from the premises. Photographs show the disgusting conditions in which they were living.’
Curtis was only banned from keeping horses and for a mere 12 months.
West Yorkshire Police and the RSPCA attended the working farm in February 2022 and found the birds in makeshift pens, many without food and water. Some were suffering from feather-loss and injuries consistent with fighting.
Seized mobile phone footage later revealed that Price was keeping and training the birds to fight.
RSPCA inspector Demi Hodby, who investigated for the animal charity, said: “All of the birds at the site appeared to be underweight with feather loss on their chest and the majority of them were bald in this area.
“On closer observation, a number of the cockerels had injuries and all appeared to have had their combs cut.
“There was a limited amount of food and water provided in each pen and some had no provisions at all.
“Inside one of the wooden pens there was a hen which was unable to bear weight on one of her legs.
“Inside the metal pen there was a cockerel which was limping and had a swollen leg and inside a shed there was another hen which was also limping.
“Due to the number of animal welfare concerns, I contacted a vet immediately who confirmed to me that a number of these birds would have been suffering.”
The vet found that a total of 14 hens and cockerels were in a state of neglect and some had been caused unnecessary suffering.
One dead cockerel was located at the scene, and sadly three birds were subsequently put to sleep on the advice of the vet to end their suffering.
Ian Muttitt, chief inspector for the RSPCA’s special operations unit (SOU), said: “I have investigated cockfighting offences for a number of years and reviewed hours of footage relating to this crime and it was very clear to me that several sequences of the footage obtained from Price’s mobile phone depicted cockfight sparring sessions.
“It was clear to me that the person responsible for these birds has an unhealthy interest in cockfighting and was keeping and training these birds for the purpose of animal fighting.”
In mitigation, the court heard that Price is illiterate, with no formal education, and is also the sole carer for his children and grandchildren.
The surviving birds were taken into the RSPCA’s care and were subsequently rehomed.
Sentencing | nine-month custodial suspended for 18 months; 20 rehabilitation activity days; 100 hours of unpaid work; £128 victim surcharge and £400 in costs. Disqualified from keeping hens and cockerels for 12 months (expires September 2024).
Barney, a traveller, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a chicken by releasing dogs on it.
Dorset Police’s rural crime team found evidence of a dog being set on a chicken during an investigation into hare coursing. The chicken was killed in the incident, which took place in a field on 7 July 2022.
Sentencing | 12-month community order with 20 days of rehabilitation activity. 12-month disqualification order, which states that he must not transport or arrange transport, own, keep or take part in keeping dogs or chickens.
Barney was given a criminal behaviour order, banning him from owning wild animals or catapults, as well as to keep off private farmland.
He appeared at Poole Magistrates Court again on Friday 14 July, 2023, to be handed the criminal behaviour order. That states that for a five-year period, he must not:
If Barney breaches any of the terms of the order, he can be arrested and taken back to court.
Police Constable Lauren Middleton, of Dorset Police’s Rural Crime Team, said: “Our investigation revealed evidence that Barney was believed to be involved in hare coursing and the offence for which he has been convicted shows that he has little regard for the welfare of animals.
“We have worked hard to compile evidence and secure this order from the court, which we hope will assist in stopping the defendant from reoffending in the future. We would like to send a special thank you to Dorset Council’s Community Safety Team for helping us secure this order.
“We hope this demonstrates to our rural communities that we will take decisive action against those who commit offences of this nature, and we would urge them to work with us by reporting any suspected breaches of the order to police so we can take further steps if necessary.”
Single mother Chloe Smith was banned from keeping animals after her tan and white bull-breed dog, Boss, was found alone at home with empty bowls and a severe skin condition. An RSPCA inspector had to push dog food and ice cubes through a letterbox to keep the dog alive.
Magistrates heard that Smith had “rescued” Boss and initially sought veterinary advice from the PDSA on treating his skin problems.
But on November 5, 2022, an RSPCA inspector visited Smith’s home to investigate reports that a dog had been left unattended for a week.
Prosecuting for the charity Jayne Skeates told the court: “There was no response but a dog was heard to be behind the door.
“Two dog bowls were seen but were both empty. The dog came to the door and was in poor bodily condition, muzzle red and raw with signs of infection.
“The RSPCA returned again on the following day, November 6, and seals on the door were still intact. Dog food and ice cubes were put through the letter box on November 7 and seals were intact.
“The dog was then seized and taken to vets for examination; it drank two bowls of water on arrival. There was a skin infection, redness and fur loss and the dog was prescribed antibiotics.”
Smith admitted not taking steps to ensure the needs of the dog were met to the extent required.
In mitigation Smith’s lawyer told the court Boss had been in an even worse condition when rescued by Smith.
She said: “The RSPCA saw it in April and they saw it in August – Boss had generally improved in the time Miss Smith had the dog,
“They had a call alleging the dog had been left for a week on its own, which was not true at all. When they found the dog on its own it had been left overnight with food.
“She registered with the PDSA, explained the symptoms and asked for him to be seen. They said it was not necessary and she needed to wash him with something mild and give him antihistamine.
“That’s what she has done, washing him three times a week and feeding him twice a day, buying salmon oil and vitamins. She was doing everything she felt she could do to improve the dog’s welfare.
“Life did not go smoothly for her. She was in a relationship that was abusive.
“However she has worked with social services and the family practitioner. Her mental health at the time was not good but has greatly improved and social services are happy for her daughter to be there.
“Since the dog has been seized by the RSPCA they have brought it back for visits. The dog is still very thin and still has a skin condition – it’s a condition it’s going to have for life – but she has improved the condition of the dog.”
Sentencing | 12-month conditional discharge; ordered to pay £400 costs and a £26 surcharge. Deprivation order for Boss. Banned from keeping animals for just 12 months (expires April 2024).
*Chloe Smith is now calling herself Khloe-Mae Elizabeth Rowley or just Khloe Rowley. When she’s not working in the Prince of Brewers pub in Burton upon Trent, she takes part in amateur boxing matches.
Farm worker Janusz Wadzinski was found guilty of causing an animal unnecessary suffering after witnesses saw him repeatedly run over a screaming sow with a quad bike before thrashing her with a long stick.
The court heard how Polish national Wadzinski had been working for Karro Food Group at Clackmarras Farm, Longmorn, Elgin for six years.
On March 20 2020, he was seen chasing a single pig on his quad, striking her hind legs with the bike until she fell and then running the quad up onto her her back before rolling off of her.
A mother and daughter out walking their dogs saw him do this at least six times and the elder of the women went on to watch in horror as he then “whacked” the pig repeatedly with a long stick.
Witness Claire Hendry told the court: “He was driving up behind her, knocked her back legs to knock her down and as she fell he was rolling up on her back and rolling off again.
“He repeated this more than six times. He was shouting but we didn’t understand as it was in Polish.
“There was a lot of shouting and swearing. We are animal lovers so it was horrific, absolutely horrific the way he was coming for her. I was a state.”
As Mrs Hendry ran down the field towards Wadzinski she saw the pig being herded into a hay bale enclosure where she was further abused.
“I will never forget that white stick,” she said. “It was three-four feet long. He picked it up and he was beating and beating her. Every time you heard a whack there was a squeal.
“This is a man who is meant to be in charge of these animals’ welfare and this is what he was doing to her.
“The pig was traumatised and squealing. I was screaming and shouting ‘oi’ at him and he eventually stopped and came over.
“He folded his arms and just said ‘what’.”
When the woman told Wadzinski he shouldn’t be chasing and striking the animal, he replied: “She not do as she’s told”.
When she said that was no excuse for his behaviour, he replied: “I go now and I kill her. I can because I work here.”
Lauren Hendry also witnessed the quad bike incident and told the court it left her in tears.
After briefly returning home she was so “shocked and disgusted” that she went back to the farm and spoke to a farm manager, who told her: “I will have a word with him”.
“I felt like I wasn’t being believed,” she added.
Taking to the stand himself, Wadzinksi told his defence lawyer Iain Maltman he continues to be employed at the farm but for the last six months has worked as a maintenance man rather than with the pigs.
He denied being on the quad behind the pig, denied hitting her with a stick and suggested he and his colleague worked side-by-side permanently to move the pigs from one paddock to another.
When the sow wouldn’t go, he claimed he was told to get a trailer to move her and that the incidents of abuse simply never happened.
He told Mr Maltman: “I didn’t say I would kill the pig. I said she was causing problems and most likely she would have to be shot.”
He claimed he said that in response to racist remarks being made towards him by Mrs Hendry and retaliated because he was “upset and tired”.
Karro’s breeding herd manager Cameron Fordyce, 53, assured the court Wadzinksi had no authority or means of killing any pigs and said having inspected the animal himself he saw no signs of injury.
However, Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood delivered his verdict immediately, rejecting the evidence of defence witnesses.
“In relation to charge one, I have no doubts you are guilty as libelled,” he told Wadzinksi.
He fined Wadzinksi, who lives in work-provided accommodation at Dykeside Cottages, Birnie, Elgin, £500 and banned him from keeping or working with animals for just one year.
A spokesman for the company Karro Food Limited (formerly Grampian Country Pork) told the Press and Journal that “appropriate action will be taken” following the verdict.
He said: “As a responsible employer, Karro Food Limited ensures high welfare standards of pigs on our own farms and throughout our supply chain.
“We do not condone or tolerate animal cruelty in any form.
“We note the court’s guilty verdict in relation to Janusz Wadzinski’s treatment of the animal in question and appropriate action will be taken.”
Mr Maltman said this ban could mean the end of Wadzinski’s employment.
Sentencing | fined £500. One-year ban on keeping or working with animals.
Following Janusz Wadzinski’s conviction for pig cruelty, several local people took to Facebook to contradict Karo Food’s claims that they take animal welfare seriously and won’t “tolerate animal cruelty in any form”.
One stated: “Karro’s farms all over are terribly kept .. I used to work with a contractor that went in to clean all the bedding from under where the huts was and I constantly found dead piglets just left … to rot”.
Ross, a convicted drug dealer previously of Elgin, has been handed a year-long animal ban after bearded dragon Coco was discovered in a terrible state.
His eyes were stuck shut, he was extremely thin and dehydrated, had suffered muscle loss and was struggling to eat.
A vet, who thought Coco was already dead when he was brought in, put the dates of his neglect between December 22, 2021 and January 22, 2022.
Fiscal depute Victoria Silver told the court Ross’s mum contacted the SSPCA after she went to check on the pet at the Balvenie Street address.
“She advised them that the bearded dragon needed veterinary care as it couldn’t open its eyes and wouldn’t eat unless food was placed directly into its mouth.”
The charity’s chief inspector Alison Simpson contacted a veterinary surgeon about Coco and was told to try placing him in warm water to help bring his body temperature up.
“It was identified he was in extremely poor condition and extremely thin,” Ms Silver added.
“Initially, on being presented with it, the surgeon thought it was dead. It was later euthanised on welfare grounds.”
Ross admitted causing a protected animal unnecessary suffering and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards SSPCA staff.
Defence agent Iain Maltman said both background reports and a psychiatric report had been carried out on his client and highlighted a mental disorder and issues caused by head trauma.
“It appears he is living a quieter life than previously and keeps himself to himself,” the solicitor said.
“It’s a sad end to his involvement with the animal. He does look after another animal at home which his mum bought him last summer.”
Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood told the solicitor: “Your client puts all the blame on the fact he was in custody for a couple of days but it’s quite clear from Crown and the SSPCA he was responsible for the animal when it came into this state.
“From the terms of the report, it would appear his new animal is not being cared for particularly well either.”
Speaking after the sentencing, SSPCA chief inspector Alison Simpson said: “We’re pleased that Gary Ross received a ban but we’re disappointed that it wasn’t for a longer period of time given the neglect Coco suffered.
“We hope that Ross seriously considers his ability to care for any animal in future.”
Sentencing | 90 hours of unpaid work. Banned from keeping animals for one year (expires March 2024).