CONVICTED (2022) | Paul Russell Constable, born May 1983, previously of Connel View, New Cumnock, Ayrshire but now of Princes Court in Ayr – punched a dog during a violent outburst.
Constable was told he deserved jail but would avoid custody after lashing out at the dog at the Day Today Store, High Park Avenue on October 18, 2021.
He admitted causing the unnamed animal unnecessary suffering and threatening behaviour when he appeared at Ayr Sheriff Court.
The Procurator Fiscal depute said: “Shortly after 7pm on the date libelled the witness was in the shop when a male entered the shop and was asked to leave. The male accused began shouting and swearing repeatedly in the store.
“The witness then observed the accused punch a dog on the body [outside] and police were contacted.
“Another witness leaving the shop nearby saw the accused punch the dog. Police attended and a witness pointed out the accused.
“The accused immediately became aggressive with police and started shouting and swearing.
“He was warned of his conduct but continued shouting and swearing and was arrested and handcuffed and conveyed to Kilmarnock Police Station.
“While en route he headbutted a cell window while shouting and swearing.
“The accused was cautioned and charged and made no reply.
Defence solicitor Steven Maxwell said: “It was appalling behaviour, I told him that. I think you will find the man is contrite.”
Sheriff Desmond Leslie said: “People have to be protected from people like you coming in and causing merry hell.
“You’re violent to a dog? The dog had done nothing wrong. You really deserve jail. It was a year ago, but this behaviour cannot be tolerated.”
CONVICTED (2022) | Anne McCrae Dick, born c. 1949, of Rowanmyle House, Tarbolton, Mauchline KA5 5LU – neglected a donkey and a pony.
Dick pleaded guilty to failing to provide necessary farriery treatment and veterinary care for her pony and donkey. Her sole punishment was a £500 fine and she was not banned from owning animals.
An investigation by the Scottish SPCA revealed the animals had been suffering and in extreme pain for up to nine months.
The pony, Ebony, sadly had to be put down while the donkey, named Annie, was able to make a recovery and is now looking for a new home.
SSPCA Inspector Caitlin Rea said: “On October 22, 2021, we attended the property of Anne McCrae Dick in response to a report regarding a pony with overgrown hooves that were curling upward.
“There was no reply at the door so a calling card was posted.
“A few days later, we spoke to Mrs Dick on the phone and advised that she must make an emergency appointment with a farrier as a matter of urgency.
“Despite several calls and voicemails requesting Mrs Dick to confirm she’d made an appointment with a farrier, we received no response.
“We revisited the property on November 2, 2021, but there was again no response.
“We could see a black Shetland pony and a grey miniature donkey grazing in the field.
“We proceeded to take a closer look. The donkey approached and we immediately noticed her feet were overgrown, in particular her front feet.
“The pony was reluctant to walk and was sweating which is an indication of pain. She was not interested in grazing so it was clear that she was suffering.
“When we eventually managed to reach Mrs Dick, she stated that she was on holiday and confirmed that she hadn’t made any appointments with a farrier but that she would do so when she returned home.
“She refused to have her own vet attend and was advised that we would be calling an independent vet to examine the pony, Ebony, and Annie the donkey as treatment could not be delayed any longer. Mrs Dick terminated the call.
“Ebony was administered pain relief to make her more comfortable while being transported to the veterinary surgery.
“Both animals were found to have chronic laminitis, an extremely painful condition affecting the tissues bonding the hoof wall to pedal bone in the hoof.
“Ebony’s heart and respiratory rates were elevated.
“Closer examination also revealed that Annie was suffering from loose and decaying teeth as well as ulcerated gums caused by severe dental overgrowths.
“Judging by the amount of growth on their hooves, it was estimated that Ebony and Annie had been suffering for six to nine months.
“These equines needed emergency treatment for their feet and teeth.
“Their lack of proper care unfortunately resulted in Ebony having to be put to sleep to end her suffering.
“Annie, now renamed Diamond, is currently being cared for by one of our animal rescue and rehoming centres.
“After receiving the treatment she needed, Diamond is now ready to find her forever home.
“This is a very disappointing result given the severity of the neglect.
“Knowing there is nothing in place preventing the accused from owning or caring for equines going forward is equally concerning and frustrating.
“Ebony and Annie need not have suffered had their owner acted responsibly and sought the necessary farriery and veterinary treatment.
CONVICTED (2021) | serial rapist Paul Hill, born c. 1965, of Kings Park Drive, Ayr – killed family pets to exert control over women
Sadistic monster Paul Hill drowned a former partner’s pet parakeet, killed another’s tiny kitten, threw a third girlfriend’s cat out of a window, and threatened to harm his own Alsatian bitch when a fourth woman told him she was leaving him.
The former bouncer was convicted of raping four women and physically assaulting eight women.
His offending took place between 1987 and 2009 throughout the Tayside, Grampian and Fife areas.
At the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Mulholland told Hill: “You used coercive and controlling behaviour. You abused and belittled them. You harmed their pets as a way of punishing them.
“Your behaviour was cruel and despicable.”
Hill was ordered to be monitored in the community for three years after his release from jail.
Defence counsel John McElroy representing Hill said: “He continues to maintain his innocence.”
Hill denied committing a string of sexual and violent offences against former partners in Aberdeen and Dundee over a 22-year period and claimed any sex was consensual.
He claimed he acted in self-defence when he strangled a 59-year-old grandmother at a Christmas party until her face turned purple after drunkenly shouting, “I’m a killing machine.”
His victims said that Hill was an evil “psycho” who verbally abused, beat, strangled and raped them. One said he attacked her after she put a CD in his alphabetically arranged collection in the wrong place.
One terrified mum-of-two sobbed as she told how she took her children to her mum’s after she caught Hill having sex with another woman in their bed.
Later he phoned threatening to kill the family’s 18-year-old pet parakeets if she didn’t return.
She said: “I went home later on that night because I knew he wasn’t in the house.
“The kids went into the house and they saw there was only one bird in the cage. They found the other parrot drowned in the kitchen sink.
“He drowned it, because the sink was filled up with water.”
Another ex-girlfriend told how Hill wrecked the Tayside apartment he shared with her after she left him because of his violent behaviour.
She said. “I had a kitten. It was only a little wee kitten. He killed my kitten.”
Hill was also convicted of throwing another woman’s cat out of the window of a flat in Kincorth, Aberdeen.
The woman said that several times when she’d said ‘no’ to sex Hill started to strangle her. She said: “His whole face – his eyes – would change, he was like a completely different person. His eyes would go really dark. He just looked really evil.”
Hill, who appeared in court via a video link, was placed on the sex offenders’ register.
EXPOSED (2020) | puppy dealer Carol Louise Willis, born 10/07/1970, currently of 3G Kings Court, Ayr KA8 0AD – kept ‘production-line’ puppies in stacked cages at her squalid farmhouse; sold diseased and genetically damaged dogs online to unsuspecting buyers
It was said that Willis had handed the dogs over voluntarily and to date, no prosecution has followed.
An SIU spokesman said at the time that Willis was ” keeping dogs in poor conditions and we believe their welfare was seriously compromised.”
He added that the Scottish SPCA had received reports of “animals suffering from illnesses and tiny pups being attacked by other dogs because they were made to live on top of each other.”
Willis handed over the dogs voluntarily and, more than 18 months later, has not been prosecuted by the authorities.
Earlier in 2018 Scottish newspaper the Daily Record reported how Willis had sold a one-eyed, seriously ill pug to a mother-of-three from Cairnryan, Wigtownshire, despite the animal urgently needing veterinary treatment.
Willis then tried to persuade Lisa Lochhead to sell on pups for her, making them look like they came from a loving family home – a favourite tactic of puppy farmers to mask the fact that they are churning out pups from a production line.
Lisa fell in love with the poorly pup, Buddy, after seeing an advert online and felt she had to rescue him from hellish living conditions. She was so desperate to save him that she borrowed cash to pay for him.
But Buddy was so over-run with mites that all his fur had fallen off. A vet confirmed he was suffering from demodectic mange as well as giardia, an intestinal problem associated with dirty, cramped conditions. This made his stool bloody and full of worms.
Buddy later lost his second eye after it burst in front of Lisa’s horrified children.
Lisa managed to talk the price down from £550 to £100 after Willis asked her to sell on dogs from her house.
Lisa has since spent hundreds of pounds on vet bills. She has also been contacted by the buyer of Buddy’s sister, who also suffered from dire skin problems.
Lisa said: “I would say that the moment I saw Buddy, I felt I had to save him from this woman. He is such a loveable wee character and the fact he lost an eye hasn’t stopped him have a big personality.
“Carol Willis told me that Buddy lost an eye after being attacked by a French bulldog she was selling, then almost lost the other eye after being scratched by his sister.
“That’s what happens when all these dogs are bred in cramped conditions. She shouldn’t be doing it.”
Lisa had hoped to see the pup with his mother before taking him but Willis repeatedly insisted on meeting at Asda car park in Girvan, Ayrshire, where she turned up with a van full of dogs in cages.
She said: “She didn’t want me anywhere near her home. I couldn’t believe that she was wanting £550 for a dog in that shape but I was determined to rescue him. Willis was really keen for me to take dogs from her and sell them as though I had bred them from my home.
“When she found out I was from Cairnryan, she started asking if I knew anyone who did ferry trips to Ireland, so I presumed she was thinking about bringing in pups that way too.”
A few days after the SIU’s raid, Willis offered to sell a Daily Record reporter a pug pup for £850, claiming she could get the dog microchipped the same day.
Willis denied her dogs were being kept in poor conditions. and told the reporter: “The SSPCA said there were too many dogs, they didn’t say they were being badly looked after.”
Willis has since moved from Lochend Farm in Barrhill, Girvan, to a flat near the Wallacetown area of Ayr
While the Daily Record said that their expose had made it impossible for Willis to continue trading, we have been sent screenshots of two recent Gumtree adverts that are believed to have been placed by Willis:
Sadly, the public have short memories and we have also heard that Willis does not operate alone. She almost certainly has a network of people around her that will allow her to continue to ply her barbaric trade.
CONVICTED (2019) | Mark Cuthbert, born 7 March 1977, of 82 Thornyflat Place, Ayr KA8 0NE – set his dogs on wildlife including badgers; bought cats online to use as live bait for his dogs; failed to get vet treatment for his dogs’ fighting injuries.
Mark Cuthbert pleaded guilty to keeping dogs for the purpose of an animal fight and killing a cat at home and at another premises.
Cuthbert used the selling website Gumtree to purchase the cats – with many owners believing their animals were going to a safe home.
The Scottish SPCA’s special investigations unit (SIU) received intelligence in March 2018 that Cuthbert had dogs for animal fighting. The SIU obtained a warrant to search Cuthbert’s address and, upon inspection, found his pets had injuries consistent with animal fighting.
They also suspected he had been self-medicating his dogs to avoid drawing attention to his illegal activities.
Investigators seized an electronic device that contained video and images of animal fights. The clips included Cuthbert’s dogs killing badgers and domestic cats.
Objects in the footage matched animal fighting paraphernalia discovered at his home. Among the items seized were tracking collars, nets, live animal traps, syringes, superglue, and pet carriers.
DNA analysis of these supported the case that many of the items were used for animal fighting.
The dogs involved in the case were black and white Patterdale terrier, Billy, and two brown female Patterdale terriers known as Digger and Tally.
Coward: Mark Cuthbert pictured outside court
Cuthbert pleaded guilty to keeping dogs, cats and a rat for an animal fight contrary to the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 under Section 23 (1) (a), for procuring cats for the purpose of animal fighting and arranging, participating and causing animal fights to take place under Section 23 (2) of the Act.
Commenting on the investigation and court case, a Scottish SPCA undercover special investigation unit (SIU) officer said, “This is a truly horrific case of animal cruelty, where we suspect dozens of animals have suffered mentally and physically at the hands of Mark Cuthbert. His inhumane treatment of animals is completely unacceptable.”
“We investigate reports of animal fights every week and the imagery and videos we discovered on his phone are some of the most depraved and upsetting we have seen. One harrowing video shows the three dogs attacking a domestic cat in a field which is fighting for its life. It’s clear the cat was caused horrendous suffering and many of the cats he purchased will have suffered long, torturous deaths.
“Cuthbert had been picking up the cats for his dogs to attack from the online selling site, Gumtree.
“After contacting Gumtree, we found correspondence between Cuthbert and people who had listed their cats on the site which led us to believe large numbers of cats were uplifted from pet owners who trusted their cats were going to a good, safe home.
“As well as the cats he purchased under false pretence, his own dogs have been treated appallingly. When we visited Cuthbert, two of his dogs had very obvious facial injuries and scars to the face, nose and jaw. Digger had a healed injury to the lower lip which had caused a v-shaped deformity and Billy was very aggressive when approached.
“If you are using an online service to find a new home for, or sell, your pet, please be vigilant and ensure your pet is going to a safe environment. If you are suspicious, do not continue with the sale and notify the Scottish SPCA as soon as possible.”
The Scottish SPCA’s special investigations unit are experts in investigating animal fighting offences and rely on information from the public to continue to put a stop to this horrific activity. All information shared with the Scottish SPCA can be treated with confidentiality and can be reported to the animal helpline on 03000 999 999.
Sentencing: ten months’ imprisonment. Ten-year ban on owning or keeping any animal (expires October 2029).
Mark Cuthbert’s long-term live-in partner is Wendy McIlloney, born 28/02/1970. They have two older children together and she has others from previous relationships.
Mofher and grandmother Wendy McIlloney lives with convicted animal abuser Mark Cuthbert.
McIlloney makes no secret of the fact that she also enjoys hunting and neighbours have said that she accompanies Cuthbert on hunting/digging trips with their dogs.
Disturbingly, it is alleged that she procured cats on her boyfriend’s behalf. As yet, no charges have been levelled against McIIloney.
The pair are also backyard breeders of Staffies and lurcher-type dogs.
CONVICTED (2018) | John Poole, born c. 1976, of Paterson Street, Ayr KA8 9HD – battered his pet dog, threw her against a wall and hurled her onto a busy road
Twisted John Poole from Ayr knocked his Golden Retriever Biscuit unconscious during a battering
Alcoholic John Poole punched and kicked defenceless golden retriever Biscuit on the head and body and threw her against a wall.
Poole then hurled the animal into the path of oncoming traffic in the seaside town of Ayr.
He was arrested over the incident in January 2018 and held in police custody before appearing in the dock at Ayr Sheriff Court.
Poole admitted causing the dog unnecessary suffering by punching and kicking her on the head and body, throwing her against a wall and into the road, leaving her injured.
He also admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, by shouting at police officers and threatening them with violence.
Police were called to the scene of the attack around 7pm on January 27, 2018, and Biscuit was rushed to a local vet for treatment.
But it is understood the dog will suffer no lasting damage.
Defence solicitor Mandy Stewart told the court that Poole is an alcoholic who is trying to overcome his addiction while complying with a court order imposed in another case.
She said he had relapsed around Christmas, culminating in him attacking his pet in the manner he admitted.
Sentencing | four months in prison; ordered to relinquish ownership of Biscuit. Banned from keeping animals for just four years (expired February 2022).
CONVICTED (2017) | farmer Detlef Meier, born November 1952, of West Mainshill Farm, Maybole KA19 7JW – left a calf to die in a boggy field, failed to feed and provide shelter for many others
Farmer Detlef Meier from Maybole, South Ayrshire, failed to look after his animals properly causing one calf to die after becoming stuck in mud
German national Meier admitted causing unnecessary suffering and failing to ensure the welfare of his animals.
He was sentenced at Ayr Sheriff Court following an investigation by animal welfare group the Scottish SPCA.
The charity said more than 20 of his cattle were found to be malnourished.
Inspectors who visited his property in January 2016 discovered one calf had died after becoming trapped in mud.
Neglectful farmer Detlef Meier from Maybole, South Ayrshire
Chief inspector Karl Knowles said: “This was a shocking case of severe neglect.
“Meier had failed to provide suitable nutrition and drinking water, adequate shelter from adverse weather, and a dry clean resting area and protection from the deep muddy hazardous environment he knew his animals were enclosed within.
“Upon inspecting the property, over 20 young cattle were identified as severely underweight due to inappropriate feeding methods, whilst another young calf had to be physically removed from a muddy bog area where it had become trapped and died.
“We are delighted the court has handed this sentence down, and hope Meier seriously considers his suitability to own and care for bovines in the future.”
Sentencing: fined £5,000. Banned from owning bovine animals for five years (expired February 2022).
