CONVICTED (2023) | Johnathan Leighton Phillips, born c. 1969, and Laura Louise Pittman, born 1971, of Brynhyfryd Terrace, Ferndale, Rhondda Cynon Taf CF43 4LA – for the mistreatment of a marmoset monkey found screaming and unable to walk at their home.
Jonathan Phillips and Laura Pittman were banned from keeping pets for 10 years after their pet marmoset was found ‘screaming’. Photo: Laura Pittman, Facebook
The RSPCA took the white-faced marmoset, known as Precious, to the vet where it was discovered she had severe metabolic bone disease. Tragically, nothing could be done to help her and she was put to sleep.
In court, her owners Jonathan Phillips and Laura Pittman admitted two charges under the Animal Welfare Act.
The couple did no research about how to care for Precious before buying her.
They fed her the wrong food and the space at their home was inadequate for a marmoset.
The white-faced marmoset – commonly known as a Geoffroy’s marmoset monkey – was put to sleep on veterinary advice to prevent further suffering
When Gemma Cooper, deputy chief inspector for the RSPCA, was called to the home she saw Precious “screaming and rolling around in a chaotic and unpredictable manner and unable to walk”.
The RSPCA said Precious was given no vitamin supplements or UV light which maintain bone health
A written vet report said Precious was “dragging herself” and was “unable to climb or leap”.
A radiograph revealed the monkey had severe metabolic bone disease – a disease which develops when an animal becomes deficient in calcium and/or vitamin D3.
Precious was thought to have been fed yoghurt, fresh and dried fruit and mealworms when she needed “live insects, fresh fruit and vegetables and gum arabic”.
The court also heard the monkey was kept alone despite her species having complex social needs.
Following sentencing, Ms Cooper said it was a “really sad story of a people buying an exotic animal on a whim and not knowing how to meet their needs”.
Dr Ros Clubb, the RSPCA’s head of wildlife, said marmosets were “wild animals that do not belong in people’s homes”.
Sentencing | 12-month community order with 10 -day rehabilitation activity requirement. Fined £350 each and ordered to pay a £140 victim surcharge; a total of £1,931.92 costs. Banned from owning animals for 10 years (expires November 2033).
CONVICTED (2023) | pet hoarders Pauline Perry, aka Pauline Thomas, and David Thomas both of Pentwyn Avenue, Mountain Ash – failed to care for 11 cats with four found stuffed into a small cat carrier inside a shopping bag.
Pet hoarder Pauline Perry, who was already well-known to the RSPCA, had concealed four unhealthy cats inside a shopping bag
The four distressed cats were discovered inside the heavily soiled cat carrier by RSPCA deputy chief Gemma Cooper. All of them were urine-stained, riddled with fleas and suffering a variety of untreated health conditions.
The appalling discovery led to 11 cats in total being removed from their owners, Pauline Perry and David Thomas, and taken into RSPCA care.
In court the couple pleaded guilty to one offence under the Animal Welfare Act in that they failed to ensure the needs of 11 cats.
In a written statement to the court RSPCA deputy chief inspector (DCI) Gemma Cooper stated that several attempts were made to gain access to the couple’s home – but access was always denied.
The court heard how DCI Cooper was driving along Pentwyn Avenue on February 1, 2023 on her way to visit the couple when she spotted Pauline Perry walking along the street.
DCI Cooper said: “Pauline Perry was walking a brindle lurcher dog I know as Sheba and she was also carrying what looked like a very heavy bag for life.
“It looked heavy because she kept putting it on the floor every ten or so steps. Sheba was wearing a red jacket which covered the majority of her body. I wondered whether Pauline Perry was purposely removing Sheba from Pentwyn Avenue before my arrival because she had a health problem she did not want me to see.
“I turned the van around and went and spoke with Pauline Perry who jumped out of her skin when she saw me.
“As I approached Pauline Perry, to my horror, I could hear cats fighting in the bag for life.”
DCI Cooper asked what was in the bag and Perry replied ‘cats’ and that she didn’t know how many were in there. DCI Cooper also noted that she could see fresh scratch marks on her hands and face.
Perry agreed for DCI Cooper to look at the cats. DCI Cooper said: “The cats were inside a single cat carrier, designed for one small cat or kitten only which had been concealed inside a pink bag for life.
“The cat carrier smelt extremely foul of cat urine and faeces and it was stained yellow. I said to Pauline Perry that I did not feel safe letting them out of the carrier on the main road in case they escaped and so I would like to take them to a vet to inspect them.”
The couple agreed for the cats to be signed over to the RSPCA and also allowed entry into their home.
DCI Cooper said: “As we entered the house there was the same foul smell of cat urine and faeces which came from the bag hit me and I had to hold my breath.
“We first went upstairs and saw two large animal crates which had been collapsed. We then went into the kitchen where there was cat faeces over the floor, up the walls and on the kitchen cupboards.
“It was extremely smelly and there were lots of flies in the room. In the middle of the kitchen was a guinea pig cage with two cats inside. These cats had no access to water or a litter tray and it was far too small to house them.”
These cats were signed over to the RSPCA. A further five cats were found in the house and then signed over. In total 11 cats were removed – one of these was not signed over but was taken into the care of the RSPCA.
The cats were taken to the RSPCA Merthyr Tydfil Veterinary Clinic where they were examined.
The first four cats to be examined were those found inside the bag/carrier. These were:
A tabby and white male cat who had severe alopecia to the majority of his body and limbs. He had fleas and flea dirt and was underweight. His coat was smelly and his paws were urine stained.
A torbie female cat who had faecal contamination over her body and tail. Her paws were also urine stained and she was underweight. Flea dirt was seen throughout her coat.
A black and white female cat. Her white paws and legs were yellow in colour from urine. She smelt and she was covered in fleas.
A dark tortoiseshell female cat who had scabs around her neck and back end. Her fur was dirty and thinning and fleas were visible throughout her body.
Other cats had fur loss and were infested with fleas; one male cat had yellow paws from urine staining.
Speaking about the four cats in the cat carrier, a vet said: “They were cramped up against each other and severely restricted in their ability to move. This will have caused notable physical discomfort and stress, the cats did vocalise and hiss repeatedly until we were able to let them out in a contained indoor environment.
“This was in contrast to how they behaved after having been let out. All the cats were a little nervous but we were able to handle them easily and did not continue their vocalisation after being released.
“This was a totally inappropriate way for the owner to transport the animals, directly causing them unnecessary discomfort and stress.”
One cat was sadly put to sleep on welfare grounds.
The surviving cats have been rehomed or are still looking for homes.
Sentencing | Perry: 12-month community order with 10 days of rehabilitation; £50 fine, £250 costs and a £115 victim surcharge. Banned from keeping all four-limbed animals for four years.
Thomas: 12 month community order with 10 days of rehabilitation; £250 costs, a £50 fine, £114 victim surcharge. Banned from keeping cats for four years.
CONVICTED (2022) | prolific wildlife killer Ryan Chad Warner, born c. 1992, of Alexandra Terrace, Cwmaman, Aberdare CF44 6NP – failed to treat his terrier’s severe facial injuries.
Warner pleaded guilty to one offence of causing unnecessary suffering to a black and white male Patterdale-type terrier called Grafter by failing to provide proper and necessary veterinary care and attention for his serious injuries.
He was not charged with any wildlife crimes despite the nature of his dog’s injuries, coupled with photographic evidence on Warner’s social media accounts that he hunts foxes and possibly badgers with dogs.
Grafter had suffered an extensive degloving injury to his jaw. Bizarrely the cause does not appear to have been explored in court.
The case was heard at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court on August 31, 2022, before it was referred to Merthyr Crown Court on Friday, October 7.
In a written statement provided to the court, RSPCA inspector Gemma Cooper said she attended Warner’s address on March 7, 2022. She met Grafter in the back garden and found him to have scars all over his head, muzzle, neck and ears.
Inspector Cooper said: “His right ear had a large, healed tear and his left ear had a large, recent tear as there was dried blood on the inside. The bite type wounds all over his head and muzzle, some appeared to be older and healed and others seemed to be newer and scabbed over.
“A large proportion of the skin from the lower jaw was hanging away from the bone, revealing the flesh part of the jaw. The flesh looked red and sore and it smelt really bad, like infection.
“There were bits of dirt and grass sticking to this bit of open flesh and Grafter appeared really uncomfortable when I touched around the area in order to get a better look. He appeared uncomfortable by repetitively moving his head away from me when I tried to look at the injury. I asked Ryan Warner if the dog had seen a vet and he said that he hadn’t.”
Warner then told inspector Cooper he’d only just bought Grafter the previous evening from an advert and that he had the injuries when he bought him. However, Warner was unable to provide her with the seller’s details. A transfer of ownership form was then signed for Grafter by Warner.
A written witness statement from a vet – who examined Grafter on March 7 – was also provided to the court. The vet said there were “extensive and severe injuries” on Grafter’s head and neck, the most severe of the injuries being an “extensive degloving injury” of the flesh of the lower jaw.
She said: “A degloving is a type of traumatic injury where a large portion of skin and tissue is detached from the underlying muscle or bone and is extremely painful.”
The vet added that in her opinion Grafter “had suffered enormously and unnecessarily as a result of his extensive and severe wounds.”
She added: “This unnecessary suffering would have been alleviated by seeking and following appropriate veterinary treatment.”
At the vets, Grafter was hospitalised and given painkillers and antibiotics and later given surgery to try to salvage the wounds on his face. Sadly, he will carry a permanent disfigurement. However, Grafter has recovered from his injuries and has since been successfully re-homed.
Sentencing | 12 months of custody suspended for 18 months; 120 hours of unpaid work; costs of £2,065 Banned from keeping dogs for five years (expires October 2027).
CONVICTED (2022) | Kenneth George Thomas, born 20 April 1964, and Denise Kimberley Warner, born 21 June 1973, of 2 Hazel Terrace, Perthcelyn, Mountain Ash CF45 3HJ – for cruelty to their two dogs found starving in the garden of their home.
Denise Warner (pictured) and partner Kenneth Thomas only received a financial penalty and 5-year ban on keeping dogs despite their sickening neglect of Sheba (top) and Vinnie, who were found starving and shivering in the pair’s garden.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to Staffies Sheba and Vinnie by failing to provide sufficient nutrition for their needs.
In a witness statement, RSPCA inspector Gemma Cooper said she attended Hazel Terrace on 8 December 2021 and could see the two dogs in the back garden. They had no shelter and were shivering.
Inspector Cooper spoke with the defendants and explained that the dogs were in very poor body condition and that they needed to go to the vets.
Thomas and Warner agreed to transfer the ownership of Sheba to the RSPCA but did not give permission to move Vinnie.
Inspector Cooper said: “As I walked back down to the rear of the garden, Sheba was still outside all hunched up, although they had let Vinnie inside out of the cold.
“When she did walk she appeared weak and had little muscle coverage over her back end. I could see every rib and every vertebrae along her spine.
“I placed a lead over Sheba and she refused to walk so I bent down to pick her up. As I carried her to the van I could feel her still shivering and as I placed her in my van I provided her with a hot water bottle which she immediately curled up around.”
Sheba was taken to a vet who said she was suffering due to lack of food – there was no food in her stomach and had no muscle.
Inspector Cooper later returned to Hazel Terrace with police, with officers seizing Vinnie.
Vinnie was examined by a veterinary surgeon who stated that he was very underweight but had slightly more muscle mass to him than Sheba. He also had a skin condition probably caused by parasites.
Both dogs were taken to RSPCA’s clinic in Merthyr Tydfil where they were given parasite treatment.
Ownership of Vinnie has been transferred to the RSPCA, who will now rehome him. Sheba has already been successfully rehomed.
Sentencing | ordered to pay a total of £634 each. Disqualified from keeping dogs for five years (expires April 2027).
CONVICTED (2022) | badger baiter Wayne Mortimer, born 18 December 1974, of 47 Nant-Y-Fedw, Mountain Ash CF45 4LS – failed to take his two seriously injured dogs to the vet.
Mortimer’s Patterdale terriers were found with multiple scarring to their heads and necks and were said by a vet to have suffered unnecessarily for at least three days because of his failure to seek treatment for them. The most severely wounded terrier, Jack, was missing 75 percent of the skin and tissue from his lower jaw.
RSPCA inspector Simon Evans, accompanied by police officers, visited Mortimer’s home on 25 November 2021 following welfare concerns for the dogs.
They found five Patterdale terriers and a lurcher puppy living in purpose-built steel kennels in a shed in the garden, with one of the dogs visibly injured.
In his evidence to the court, Inspector Evans said: “I saw a small, black, Patterdale type terrier with a white patch on its chest. This terrier appeared to have an injury to its lower jaw and the wound looked to be yellow with pus.
“I looked inside and examined the injured dog more closely. The wound was extensive, covering the whole area beneath the dog’s chin reaching down to the throat.
“It had been completely stripped of skin and hair and was red raw and covered in sawdust shavings, making it look yellow. One of the other Patterdale terriers also had an injury to its lower lip and this too looked raw.”
Both dogs were seized by police and taken immediately for veterinary treatment by the RSPCA.
In her statement, the examining vet said Jack was missing “a significant amount of skin and subcutaneous tissue from the mandible, which resulted in no normal tissue present for approximately 75 percent of the lower jaw”.
The root of the terrier’s left canine was exposed and there were also wounds to his nasal septum and multiple small lacerations to his upper lips, cranium and eyes.
The other terrier, Race, had an unhealed wound on his left ear, a laceration on his chin and bilateral conjunctivitis.
Both dogs had healed scars on the head and neck in multiple areas and additional scrapes and wounds which were only a few days old.
When Mortimer was interviewed by Inspector Evans on 6 December he told the officer the injuries had been caused by the dogs fighting. He said he’d treated the wounds himself using disinfectant and antibiotics purchased off the internet but had been too frightened to take them to a vet as he was worried he might be suspected of using them to bait badgers.
He also told the inspector that the injury to Race had occurred about 12 months earlier following another fight with Jack, and the historic scarring to the dog’s face was as a result of bolting foxes on land controlled by a gamekeeper friend.
Chip off the old block. Wayne Mortimer with daughter Jessica Mortimer, who shares her father’s taste for animal cruelty.
A second independent veterinary expert who provided evidence in the case, said he believed the injuries were likely to have been caused by the powerful bite of a badger, which would have held the terriers in a “vice-like grip.”
He said: “The chin injuries sustained by the dogs are not consistent with having been caused by fighting with each other when taking into account the severity of the facial tissue damage and tissue loss.
“It is highly likely that these injuries were caused as a consequence of them fighting with a badger.”
Both vets agreed that Jack and Race had been suffering due to Mortimer’s failure to seek veterinary care.
Mortimer pleaded guilty to three animal welfare offences when he appeared following a prosecution by the RSPCA.
Jack and Race are doing well in RSPCA care and the charity is looking for new homes for them. The other dogs seen at Mortimer’s property have since been rehomed.
Sentencing | 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. 40 hours of unpaid work; a total of £528 in costs and charges. Banned from keeping dogs for ten years but may appeal after five years.
CONVICTED (2021) | Dean J James, born c. 1984, of Railway View, Llwynypia, Tonypandy CF40 2TJ – kept 15 rabbits in sparse wire cages and failed to treat their numerous ailments.
The court heard how police executed a warrant at James’ Railway View home, where rabbits were being kept in a wire mesh cage without access to bedding, environmental enrichment or suitable protection from the weather.
James had also failed to provide appropriate veterinary care for the rabbits – who had conditions including conjunctivitis, dermatitis, lameness and neurological disease.
His failure to provide veterinary care for one of the rabbits, who had lameness, caused the animal to suffer – while a further white rabbit also suffered due to heat exposure.
Following the hearing, RSPCA inspector Julie Fadden said: “Rabbits can make fantastic companions – but it’s vital that their needs are met; including the provision of a proper environment for them to live in. That simply wasn’t happening here.
“These rabbits were living in a hugely inappropriate wire mesh cage and they were not receiving the vet care they desperately needed.
“Fortunately, all 15 rabbits are now in the care of the RSPCA, and we look forward to finding them loving new, suitable homes in the near future.”
Sentencing | 80 hours of unpaid work; total of £495 costs and charges; 12 month community order. Three-year ban on keeping rabbits (expires October 2024).
CONVICTED (2020) | Mathew Howell Jones, born 30/05/1981, of Jones Street, Tonypandy CF40 2BY – for badger baiting and failing to take his injured dog to the vet
Mathew Howell Jones was given a suspended jail term after interfering with a badger sett and failing to seek treatment for his badly injured dog.
Mathew Howell Jones pleaded guilty to one Protection of Badgers Act 1992 offence and one Animal Welfare Act 2006 offence.
The court heard that the father-of-three was caught using dogs to interfere with a badger sett on January 20, 2019.
Jones also admitted failing to get urgent veterinary treatment for his dog, with the black terrier struggling with serious injuries.
The unnamed dog had alopecia and skin lesions, caused by sarcoptic mange – with a wound to the eye consistent with a tear injury to the lower lid. Despite these problems, Jones had not taken him to the vet.
A veterinary professional said such injuries are “commonly seen following fighting” and would be “consistent with a face-to-face encounter with another dog or a fox or a badger”.
One of badger baiter Mathew Howell Jones’s dogs
The dog – one of four initially seized as part of the investigation – was signed into the RSPCA’s care and ultimately put up for rehoming.
Police found blood-stained overalls in Jones’ van, though he denied ownership of the clothing. Testing of the blood confirmed it had come from a badger. RSPCA officers later found evidence of one large, freshly dug and back-filled hole at an active badger sett.
Chief inspector of the RSPCA’s special operations unit Ian Briggs said: “Interfering with a badger sett in this way is a very serious wildlife crime, and clearly had serious possible impacts both for the dogs involved and wildlife.
“One poor dog in this case was struggling with injuries that clearly needed urgent veterinary care. It’s very worrying that the injuries sustained by the dog are – according to veterinary opinion – consistent with fighting, and a face-to-face encounter with wildlife, such as a fox or a badger.
“This case is yet another example of the RSPCA’s efforts to tackle crimes against Wales’ wildlife.”
Sentencing: five-month prison sentence, suspended for 24 months; ordered to pay a total of £1,520. Disqualified from keeping all animals for four years.
Jones was also deprived by the court of all possessions related to the interference with a badger sett – including locating devices and netting.
CONVICTED (2019) | Andrew Lee Jones, born 8 March 1981, of Ynscynon Road, Tonypandy CF40 2LN – kicked and killed a seagull.
Seagull killer Andrew ‘Stitch’ Jones from Tonypandy
A driver witnessed Jones kicking the bird before finding it dead on 1 May 2019.
An RSPCA appeal resulted in CCTV showing the incident being provided by the council.
Jones pleaded guilty to one offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison.
RSPCA inspector Simon Evans thanked the witness for coming forward, adding: “This horrific incident was also caught on CCTV where the defendant was seen kicking the bird and using his foot to direct it into a corner of the car park.
“The bird had sustained other injuries before this attack – however, a post-mortem examination found that it would have been the blunt trauma injuries from the defendant’s kick that would have been the most likely cause of death.
“There is no excuse for this kind of deliberate cruelty.”
Sentencing: Jailed for 12 weeks. Ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £115.
CONVICTED (2019) | badger baiters Christian Adam Latcham, born 02/09/87, of Cymmer Road, Porth CF39 9BE, Jamie Richard Rush, born 13/03/92 of Church View, Talgarth, Brecon LD3 0DG, Cyle Griffith Jones, born 09/11/87, of Cwrt Tarrell, Newgate Street, Brecon, Powys LD3 8ED, and Thomas Lawrence Young, born 16/12/92, of no fixed abode but with links to Portskewett in Caldicot and Blaina, Abertillery
South Wales badger baiters Thomas Young, Christian Latcham, Cyle Jones and Jamie Rush jailed after BBC undercover investigation.
Latcham, Jones, Rush and Young were caught badger baiting by an undercover journalist working for BBC Wales. All four denied the charges against them, but were found guilty following a trial.
Christian Latcham has 12 previous convictions for 24 offences, including for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
The four men loaded a pick-up van with shovels and dogs to go to a “pre-arranged” location to dig for badgers in the countryside.
Tomas Young also has previous animal cruelty convictions.
Prosecutor Jon Tarrant said: “They were attempting to take a badger.”
The group did not know they had been joined by the undercover investigator – known as John.
Cyle Jones has 13 previous convictions for 18 offences, including animal cruelty. Cyle Jones with wife Lucy Jones, who regularly clicks ‘love’ on Facebook posts showing her husband and his associates engaging in animal baiting.
Giving evidence, a BBC researcher said Young introduced him to three other men before they set off on the hunt on March 24, 2018.
He said: “The discussions were that Thomas, Christian and two other individuals were going to West Wales to a pre-designated location and that they were going to be digging for badgers.”
He added that the men met at Latcham’s house where he had a garage transformed into “kennels” – with cages and dogs.
They then set off from the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales, to Llanddewi Velfrey in Pembrokeshire.
Serial abuser Christian Latcham
The undercover investigator said the men discussed that they would “dig for billies/badgers” on the journey.
He said when the men arrived at a field they donned “wellies and country wear” and put collars on the dogs to track their whereabouts.
He said: “They explained to me what would happen when they put the dogs down into the tubes, as they called it. Into the set.
“They explained about monitoring the dog in the ground.”
The court heard that when the dog stopped underground the men began to dig.
He added: “When it stopped I was told that was when we would dig down.
“When we dug down there wasn’t anything with that dog.
“We repeated this cycle for a number of hours.”
The court heard that larger dogs were brought to the holes “in readiness” to attack the badgers.
One hole was so deep that Latcham’s head could not be seen above the ground as he stood in it.
Christian Latcham has 12 previous convictions for 24 offences, including for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
Cyle Jones has 13 previous convictions for 18 offences, including animal cruelty.
Rush has eight previous convictions for nine offences and has previously been sentenced to two years in prison.
Rush has eight previous convictions for nine offences and has previously been sentenced to two years in prison.
Of the four defendents only Rush gave evidence during the four day trial in front of District Judge Neil Thomas.
Judge Thomas said: “I have no difficulty coming to the unreserved conclusion, that he was not telling the truth.”
Jamie Rush shows precisely why he’s an inadequate little man …
When Cyle Jones was taken away, someone in the public gallery shouted “keep your head up love”, he was previously jailed in June 2019 for 18 weeks after admitting unnecessary cruelty to animals, relating to two dogs who were injured.
Sentencing: Latcham was jailed for 26 weeks, Jones and Rush for 22 weeks. Thomas Young was sentenced to 20 weeks in custody, suspended for 12 months and will be subject to a curfew. Young and Jones are already banned from keeping dogs for life and Latcham has an indefinite ban following a 2011 cruelty conviction.
CONVICTED (2017) | tyre fitters Shaun Mark Fussell, born 05/02/1988, of Woodlands Crescent, Quakers Yark, Treharris CF46 5AP, Lee Edward Jones, born 27/07/1975, of Rhydfach, Pentrebach, Merthyr Tydfil CF48 4DJ and William Christopher Morgan, born 02/03/1981, of Upper Fforest Level, Mountain Ash CF45 4HR – hit a wild rat over the head, forced it into a pipe and launched it into the air like a cannonball.
Pictured left to right Shaun Fussell, Lee Jones and Billy Morgan. All three men were convicted of animal cruelty after shooting a live rat from a makeshift cannon
Shaun Fussell, Lee ‘Sooty’ Jones and William ‘Billy’ Morgan were all convicted of animal cruelty after a video was posted to Facebook showing a live rat being fired out of a makeshift cannon.
Sadist Lee Jones was filmed shooting the terrified rat several metres into the air
The horrific footage showed a rat being caught in a tyre fitting shop using pliers, and forced into a pipe attached to an air compressor after being hit on the head with a metal pole. The rat was then shot out of the pipe by Lee Jones using the compressor, into the air and over a neighbouring building.
After issuing a public appeal for information earlier in 2017, the RSPCA received “scores” of calls from people as far as Australia to help track down the men.
Shaun Fussell
RSPCA inspector Gemma Cooper said: “This was such a horrific case where this rat suffered unnecessarily.
Lee Jones in still from the horrific video footage
“Even though some people see rats as vermin they are still protected by law in certain circumstances. They are still living creatures that feel fear and pain.
“These men purposely attached a gas compressor and put the rat in a tube and fired it. They knew exactly what they were doing.
“We never found the rat, but it surely suffered extremely from the horrifying incident.”
Sentencing: 12-month community order of 180 hours of unpaid work each; ordered to pay a total of £445 each in costs and charges.
