CONVICTED (2024) | Daniel Mark Janes, born 7 May 1992, of Llanllienwen Close, Ynysforgan, Swansea SA6 6LY – for the starvation and neglect of two dogs and ten cats.
Animal hoarder Janes, who was well known to the RSPCA, failed to attend court and a warrant was issued by the court for his arrest. Ultimately he pleaded guilty to five offences under the Animal Welfare Act and was sentenced on Thursday 29 August, 2024, at Swansea Magistrate Court.
The RSPCA brought charges against oddball Janes after removing the severely neglected pets from his filthy home, which had faeces all over the floorboards and smelt extremely strong of cat urine. Many of the animals were severely underweight and some had health issues and were infested with fleas.
Janes admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a Staffy-type dog called Rocky and a collie lurcher-type female dog called Brandy by failing to investigate and address the causes of their poor bodily condition and weight loss. He also failed to provide the necessary veterinary care and attention for the dogs’ skin conditions.
His other victims included cats Dot, Dora, Snickers, Caesar, Bela, Narla, Rose and Gizmo who were all dehydrated after Janes failed to provide them with an adequate supply of fresh drinking water. A ninth cat called White Lily was found in a poor bodily condition with Janes failing to investigate the causes of her weight loss. Sadly White Lily and another cat called Arlo did not survive.
The court heard that the RSPCA had several dealings with Janes and had made appointments with him so they could check on the animals’ welfare and the environment. It was noted, however, that he had cancelled fixed appointments at the last minute or the officers arrived to no reply at the address.
On 7 April 2023, RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) Ellie West and RSPCA Inspector Holly Brown were finally given access to the property.
During this visit Janes was issued with an animal welfare assessment form which included advice to clean the flat and treat it for a flea infestation, take Rocky, who was riddled with fleas, to a vet and provide all of the pets with a good nutritional diet.
Janes agreed to sign four female ferrets over to the RSPCA. Six cats were also treated for fleas, wormed, neutered and ID chipped by the RSPCA.
On 30 April ARO West returned to the property, when Janes told her he was caring for four cats for a friend. A male cat was shut in his bedroom.
A vet appointment had been made for Rocky but Janes failed to attend.
A further visit was made on 18 May. during which another animal welfare assessment form was issued followed up with calls in July – however, many of these had no reply. Janes remained unwilling to sign any animals over to the RSPCA.
In a statement provided to the court, RSPCA Inspector Gemma Cooper said she received a call on 25 August stating that two of Janes’s cats named White Lily and Arlo had been presented to a vet earlier that week in an emaciated body condition and crawling in fleas. White Lily had died while Arlo had to be put to sleep on welfare grounds.
Inspector Cooper attended Janes’ home and when there was no answer she looked through the letterbox.
She said: “I could see the hip bones of all three animals and the cat was unsteady on her feet as she walked towards the front door.
“I could also see that the cat had fur loss over her head and ears, her skin appeared red and that one of the dogs was also suffering from fur loss throughout her torso.
“There was a litter tray in the hallway and faeces all over the floorboards. The property smelt extremely strong of cat urine.”
Inspector Cooper then called the police for assistance and as she waited outside she saw Janes with two dogs – Rocky and Brandy.
She said Rocky’s ribs and spine were visible and his waist was tucked in. Of Brandy, she said: “Although her long fur did a good job of hiding how underweight she was, when I put my hands on her I could feel all her ribs and vertebrae”.
She added that her hip bones were visible and her skin was red and scabby.
When she was given access inside she said: “As soon as the front door opened, a foul smell of ammonia hit me. I noticed that the faeces on the floorboards in the hallway had been picked up but faeces remnants remained and the floorboards were soaked in what smelt like cat urine.
“The litter trays that had been provided were full and when I asked if he had any cat food or cat litter in the house he said he hadn’t but he was just going to the shop to get some. There was a large opened sack of dog food in the flat. There was a blue dog bowl on the floor in the living room with a few pieces of kibble inside and a large plastic bucket of water. There were no cat bowls with food or water inside the flat.”
Eight cats along with Rocky and Brandy were removed by the RSPCA and were seized by police.
The ten animals were boarded at RSPCA Merthyr Tydfil Veterinary Clinic where Inspector Cooper said: “Seven out of the eight cats ate ravenously, some even growling whilst eating.”
A statement, provided to the court by the vet who examined the eight cats after they were removed on 25 August, said that they were all underweight and had fleas.
A further vet statement by another vet who examined Rocky and Brandy on 25 August said: “The first thing I noticed about the dogs was that they were both smelly. They smelt very badly of both cat urine and ferret.
“Rocky was microchipped and weighed 21.1 kilograms. He was thin with a body score of 2.5 out of nine – where five is normal, nine is obese and one is emaciated. He had fleas and his skin was slightly erythematous as were his interdigital spaces.
“Brandy was microchipped and weighed 13.5 kilograms. She was also underweight with a body score of two out of nine. She too had a heavy flea burden and flea allergy dermatitis and her fur was very thin.”
RSPCA Inspector Cooper said: “This is certainly a case where we tried everything we could to educate and help the owner of these animals to improve their welfare, but sadly the situation did not improve and tragically two cats died. Following the court order, we are now very pleased to be able to finally find forever homes for the animals involved in this case.”
The court heard in mitigation that Janes loved animals and people “dumped” animals on him.
The surviving cats have been cared for by an RSPCA branch. Rocky and Brandy were fostered and will now be rehomed.
Sentencing | concurrent custodial sentences for each offence with Janes serving a maximum of 26 weeks of immediate custody. Disqualified from keeping all animals for life but can appeal after 10 years.