CONVICTED (2024) | Daniel Bayley, born c. 1981, formerly of Kidlington, Oxfordshire, but now no fixed abode – caught hitting his pet dog and dragging him by the collar.
Bayley pleaded guilty to hitting the dog, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Bailey, and intentionally sitting on him.
He was also seen dragging the dog by his collar.
It was ordered the dog was removed from Bayley, now of no fixed abode, and he was banned from owning an animal for five years.
He was also fined £200. There were court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £80.
CONVICTED (2024) | pet hoarder Anita J Cross, born 1958, of Tilgarsley Road, Eynsham, Witney, OX29 4PP – ordered to give up seven dogs, 14 cats and two kittens under animal welfare legislation.
Cross appeared at Oxford Magistrates Court on January 15, 2024, after an application was made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to remove several animals from her.
The application was made under section 18(15) which authorises an inspector or constable to take a protected animal into possession where a veterinary surgeon certifies that it is suffering or is likely to suffer.
After the hearing, it was ordered that the animals be removed and administered treatment. There were seven dogs, 14 cats, and two kittens.
Cross was also ordered to pay West Oxfordshire District Council £1,000 for the veterinary intervention costs.
CONVICTED | huntsman Oliver Thompson, 32, of 4 Old Berks Hunt Kennels, Little Coxwell, Faringdon SN7 8ES – baited a petrified fox cub with a dog while his wife Felicity Thompson, aka Felicity Hook, filmed events.
Huntsman Oliver Thompson was filmed training a terrier to attack a fox
Thompson, formerly of the Old Berkshire Hunt, was filmed removing a young fox from a trap and repeatedly putting her in close proximity to a terrier named Nelly in July 2020.
The video – filmed near Melksham, Wiltshire – was leaked and the RSPCA successfully prosecuted the defendant Oliver Thompson for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
Thompson pleaded guilty to the offence at Swindon Magistrates’ Court, and appeared for sentencing on Monday 11 December.
He also admitted second charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal – which involved throwing a fox to a pack of hounds on Christmas Eve 2020.
Magistrates described his offending as “sadistic behaviour” in which he had a “leading role”.
Thompson’s wife Felicity Thompson aka Felicity Hook had the case against her dismissed after the prosecution offered no evidence.
Felicity Thompson, whose voice is heard on the video, was also charged. However, prosecutors offered no evidence and the case against her was dismissed.
After the footage was leaked, the British Hound Sports Association said it had suspended Oliver Thompson pending further investigation. but he subsequently resigned from the Old Berkshire Hunt.
A spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association said that it was “no surprise for us to learn about the latest incident of animal cruelty”.
They added: “These two new offences pre-date, but are in addition to the recent court case of Stuart Radbourne and whipper-in Aaron Fookes who were also sentenced Hunting Act and Animal Welfare Act offences, when they also threw a fox to the hounds in Brokerswood in December 2022.
“Hunt Saboteurs are out in the fields, week in week out and witness the cruelty at every hunt we attend. The next government must act and close down the smokescreen of trail hunting for good.”
Sentencing | 20-week prison sentence suspended for two years; 300 hours of unpaid work; costs of £2,500. No dog ban was imposed but the court ordered Thompson to hand Nelly the terrier over to the RSPCA. It’s not known if she will be re-homed or put to sleep.
CONVICTED (2023) ex-Wynnstay Hunt employee Christopher J Woodward, born 20 November 1984, previously of Ruabon, Wrexham, but now of Huntsman House, The Kennels, South Lawn, Swinbrook, Burford OX18 4FH – caught interfering with a badger sett.
Christopher Woodward is now employed by the Heythrop Hunt
On 3 February 2023, huntsman Christopher Woodward and a second Wynnstay Hunt employee identified as whipper-in Charlie Young were caught red-handed blocking the badger sett near Whitchurch, North Wales, in preparation for the following day’s hunting in the area.
Hunt saboteurs confronted the pair, who fled the scene. .
North Wales Police launched an investigation which led to the prosecution of Woodward, who is now employed by the Heythrop Hunt, based in Banbury, West Oxfordshire,
According to the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) Woodward and Young were caught three weeks earlier blocking the same badger sett.
The purpose of this cruel practice, which can cause badgers to suffocate, is to force foxes above ground so that they can be illegally hunted.
Woodward’s alleged accomplice Charlie Young. It’s not known if he also faced charges
Following Woodward’s conviction an HSA spokesperson said: “The blocking of badger setts is routine practice by fox hunts across the country.
“Not only is such behaviour illegal under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, it provides obvious evidence of the intent to/commit offences under the Hunting Act.
“The fact that this seedy pair were caught on film at the same badger sett only weeks earlier beggars belief and provides further compelling evidence of the habitual nature of such offences.”
Woodward is due to appear in court again in October 2023 to face charges in relation to breaches of the Hunting Act.
Sentencing | £500 fine plus £200 victim surcharge and £85 costs. The fine takes into account his guilty plea and income and is to be paid within 28 days.
CONVICTED (2023) | persistent domestic abuser Dudley J Stein, born c. 1992, of Coniston Avenue, Headington, Oxford OX3 0AN – threw his ex’s pug out of a first-floor window.
After hurling the dog, Borris, from the window, Stein told his ex the pug was ‘probably dead’ and added: “I wish it were you.”
In a statement, Stein’s ex said he ‘often beats me up’ and said: “I am very afraid for Borris.”
Stein had spent a long weekend from June 16, 2023, at the woman’s home after seeing her in Oxford, despite being subject to a restraining order at the time that banned him from contacting her.
The court heard the weekend had not been a ‘happy time’ and was ‘marred by [Stein’s] lack of patience and anger, particularly towards [Borris]’.
During an argument with his ex, Stein became irritated by Borris’s snoring, and threw him from a first-floor window. Miraculously the tiny dog survived the fall. It’s not known if he suffered injury.
The judge told Stein he accepted this was “an act of sheer rage”
Stein, who threatened to crush his toddler son’s skull in a previous violent outburst, pleaded guilty to four counts of breaching restraining orders and a charge of attempted criminal damage in relation to Borris.
The court heard had five previous convictions, including for false imprisonment and assault.
Sentencing | 14 month custodial with 10 weeks added for breaching a suspended prison sentence.
CONVICTED (2023) | Mark Flintham, born 8 December 1968, of Lock House, Abingdon Lock, Abingdon OX14 3NW – killed a goose by stamping on it, kicking it and attempting to break its neck.
Headcase: police described Mark Flintham’s vicious attack on a helpless goose as “very disturbing”
Between 2.30pm and 3.30pm on 10 August 2022, Mark Flintham was seen by members of the public grabbing a wild goose in Abbey Meadows, Abingdon.
Flintham stamped on the bird and then kicked it and attempted to break its neck, before taking the lifeless bird away from the park.
Flintham (left, outside court) was photographed holding the injured goose
The incident was investigated by Thames Valley Police’s rural crime taskforce and Flintham was charged on 18 January 2023.
Flintham initially pleaded not guilty, but was found guilty by the court.
Under the UK Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is an offence to kill or injure any wild animal, and wild birds are only allowed to be killed or taken under license.
Sentencing | 18 week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months; alcohol treatment; rehabilitation activity requirement; £304 costs. Disqualified from keeping any animal for five years (expires May 2028).
CONVICTED (2021) | hare coursers Thomas Joseph Connors, born February 1978, of Carew Road, Wallington, Sutton SM6, Patrick Rooney, born c. 1985, of Croydon Road, Keston, Bromley BR2, Anthony Connors, born 31 January 1987, of Rutland Avenue, High Wycombe HP12, and James Raymond Bell, born October 2000, of Oaksview Park, 12 Murcott, Kidlington, Oxfordshire OX5 2RH
Thomas Connors, James Bell, Anthony Connors and Patrick Rooney all received fines and Criminal Behaviour Orders.
Officers from Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT) caught the four men, who were also with a 12-year-old boy, driving through a field in Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire, looking for hares.
James Bell
On seeing the police, the group drove off through wildlife conservation areas and, after a short pursuit through the village, drove onto another field before stopping.
All four were interviewed and previous poaching convictions were revealed.
The vehicle was seized and the men were ordered to leave the county.
Anthony Connors
They all pleaded guilty to daytime trespass in pursuit of game (poaching) at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on September 22, 2021, and were each handed a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) lasting three years.
The order prevents them from (while in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex):
being on private agricultural or farm land, or any yards or working areas associated with that land, in or on any vehicle, or on foot whilst in possession of one or more sight hound or x-sight hound breed, unless the land owner’s written permission has been obtained beforehand
Jim Bell (left) and Anthony Connors (right)
All four were also ordered to pay £178 in compensation to the owner of the fields and wildlife conservation areas.
In addition, Thomas Connors was fined £150, while Anthony Connors, Rooney and Bell were fined £200.
CONVICTED (2021) | Jago Mattew Lethbridge, born c. 1997, of Ferndale Street, Faringdon but with strong links to St Ives in Cornwall and Hugh Town on St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly – killed a chicken he stole from a farm by breaking its neck.
Lethbridge, who works as a boat skipper, admitted stealing two chickens from a farm on St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly.
He also pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the chicken by breaking its neck and killing it.
Sentencing | 12-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months; four-month curfew. Ordered to pay compensation of £171.20, a surcharge of £128 and costs of £85. Ten-year ban on keeping animals (expires June 2031).
CONVICTED (2021) | Joshua Elliott Alexander, born June 1989, of 20a Queen Street, Henley-on-Thames RG9 1AP – chased, intimidated and punched his pet dog
Company director Josh Alexander pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a black terrier named Goat and failing to ensure that his needs were met.
The IT specialist was caught on CCTV harming the dog between February 28 and March 8, 2020.
He was filmed chasing him along an alleyway next to his home and punching him.
After viewing the footage, presiding magistrate Chloe Jeffs told Alexander that he would be spared jail for the offences, which could have merited a 51-week prison sentence.
Miss Jeffs said: “This case is so serious that custody has been a strong option. We have thought long and hard about whether to send you to prison.
“We have more than 35 years’ experience on the bench and we have never seen footage as upsetting as what we have seen today when it comes to animal welfare.
“Your intimidating behaviour towards a dog who you claim to miss was cruel, mean and, frankly, quite shocking and to call yourself an animal lover is outrageous. We do not believe that you can be trusted to look after animals.”
Goat has since been rehomed by the RSCPA.
Nikki Denham, an investigator with the charity, said: “It is upsetting to see Goat cowering in the footage.
“I would like to thank the police and witnesses for reporting the matter as without people like them, the RSPCA would struggle to bring incidents like this to the attention of the courts.”
Sentencing: 12-month community order, with nine months of drug rehabilitation and 20 rehabilitation days; £690 costs. Banned from keeping animals for life.
