Clacton man strangled his four pet cats, burned their bodies

03.12.2011 – David Hill, Clacton, Essex
Sentence: 4-month jail sentence; life-ban on keeping an animal

David Hill, 58, formerly of Wellesley Road, Clacton, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to four pet cats.

The court heard that Hill was due to be kicked out of his rented house. He failed to find friends to take on the cats and the RSPCA could not rehome them. Instead, Hill broke their necks, burned them in a bin, then dumped their bodies in a coal bunker.

Following a tip-off, police attended the property and found the remains of the cats in the bunker.

Hill told police that the cats hadn’t screamed and hadn’t seemed to be in pain, although the last one struggled and scratched him because he saw what happened to the other three.

Magistrates told Hill that he would have been jailed for six months if he hadn’t pleaded guilty. Hill will be able to apply to have the life ban lifted in ten years.

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Man caught on CCTV choking, whipping and kicking his four dogs

26.11.11 – Jake Soden, Ward End, Birmingham
Sentence: 15-month community order; life-ban on keeping animals

Jake Soden

Jake Soden, 20, formerly of Ward End, Birmingham was captured by his neighbour’s CCTV cameras choking, whipping and kicking his four dogs. The unidentified neighbour passed the footage onto the RSPCA who prosecuted Foden.

Soden would launch his unprovoked attacks on his terrified dogs late at night and early in the morning when he thought no one was looking. His 34-year-old neighbour said the two huskies, a brown Staffordshire terrier type dog and a black cross-breed would “freeze at every move” Soden made.

“The dogs were absolutely terrified,” he said. “They would cower to the ground, their tails were tucked between their legs, their ears were down. “They would never jump around or run about, as they were too scared of him. I always remember seeing the fear in the eyes of the brown dog during one incident.”

The abuse was first recorded as Soden walked the dogs through the snow on Boxing Day, last year.

The neighbour said: “He would repeatedly kick the dogs for no reason. He would whip the lead down onto their backs, pin the heads of the dogs to the floor and stand on the lead to prevent them moving, drag them along the floor by the lead and by holding their heads, and pull the lead up in the air causing the dogs to be standing on their back feet while they were being choked.

“He would also punch the dogs, and in one incident he tied three of the dogs to a lamppost, and dragged a husky behind a wall, pinned it to the ground and started punching it. Before this, he looked around to see if anyone was about.”

The chairman of the magistrates said the “sheer brutality was unbelievable” and they found the number of attacks an aggravating feature of the case.

Soden pleaded guilty to five charges of failing to protect the dogs from pain, injury or fear contrary to section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.  He was given a 15-month community order and disqualified from keeping animals for life.

Sally Case, head of prosecutions at the RSPCA, wrote to the neighbour and said: “This case was only possible because of the video footage obtained by you, and I wish to pass on my gratitude again to you for both obtaining the footage and allowing the RSPCA to use it as vital evidence of mistreatment of these animals.

“We hope that the court’s order will serve to protect animals in the future from wrong-doing of this kind.”

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Man repeatedly punched a 12-week-old puppy

29.11.11 – Matthew Blagborough, Cardiff
To be sentenced on 20.12.11 – Telford Magistrates Court

Matthew Blagborough

Yesterday (28.11.11) Matthew Blagborough of of Mynachdy Road, Cardiff, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to a 12-week-old Staffordshire bull terrier named Molly.

Eyewitnesses, who included friends of Blagborough, told the court they had seen Blagborough grab Molly, who belonged to his girlfriend, by the scruff of the neck and punch her repeatedly with his clenched right fist. The witnesses challenged him. The dog then broke loose and Blagborough chased her up an alleyway.

The incident happened on 30 January near the Coalport Tavern in Oakengates, Telford.

The court was told that the dog was taken to a vet the following day by the RSPCA and was found to be suffering facial swelling and bloodshoot eyes.

The vet said: “It didn’t look like the sort of injury caused by a routine trip or a puppyhood accident. It is my opinion that the injuries were consistent with this animal having been punched.”

Blagborough denied punching the pup, saying: ““She was a 12-week-old puppy – why would I want to attack her?”

He claimed that the dog’s injuries were caused when he slipped and fell on top of her as he was chasing her.

The court did not accept Blagborough’s version of events and found him guilty of causing unnecessary suffering. He is to be sentenced on 20.12.11 and has been warned by Telford Magistrates that custody is “very much an option”

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Keighley Bradford councillor remanded in custody after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to 4 cats

Robert Payne and two of his kittens

This is Robert Payne, who represents Keighley West on Bradford District Council. Payne was arrested by police on Monday 14.11.11 in the Beechcliffe area of Keighley.

The politician, who was convicted of fraud earlier this year, admitted causing injury to four cats which resulted in their death. He was remanded in custody due to the seriousness of the offence and is due to reappear at Bradford Crown Court on December 23 for sentencing.

Yesterday (26.11.11) The Sun revealed that Payne had killed the cats by smashing them into walls. Police discovered walls everywhere spattered with blood after neighbours reported horrific shrieking sounds. They recovered two cat carcasses frozen solid in a freezer, one body on the stairs and a fourth in another room of Payne’s two-bed rented terrace.

Sickeningly Payne posted on Facebook before killing the kittens: “Bless my cats cuddling up to me to cheer me up.”

A former friend told how Payne  had complained that the kittens had been keeping him awake.

The leader of Bradford Council has called on Payne to resign. Under local authority rules he is free to continue in his role unless he is jailed for more than three months.

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Woman cooked 10-week-old kitten to death in a microwave

23.11.11 – Gina Robins, Torquay

Gina Robins

Gina Robins, 31, of Salisbury Avenue, Torquay was today found guilty of microwaving a 10-week-old kitten to death in February 2011.  Robins had denied the charge, claiming the kitten had been shut in the microwave oven by other cats.

Robins was released on bail and is due to be sentenced at the court on 14 December.

Magistrates heard that Robins was angry at the kitten’s owner, Sarah Knutton, for reporting her boyfriend to police over a separate matter.

Ms Knutton told magistrates that on the day of the incident Robins had gone to her home with her toddler son and had gone into the kitchen to heat up his food.

“She was in the kitchen for a couple of minutes and came into the lounge with the bowl of baby food,” Ms Knutton told the court. “She was jumpy, really, really different from when she went to the kitchen. ‘Claws clenched’ “She was fidgety, something was wrong. I heard the loud noise… then this horrendous screech, a horrific loud screech.”

She said when she had found the dead kitten she had felt sick and “numb”, but Robins made no attempt to comfort her.

After the kitten died, Robins sent Ms Knutton a text message, ending their friendship and saying: “Remember the saying, ‘What goes around comes around’?”, adding: “The cat? Karma.”

Vet Robert Cameron said the kitten “would have suffered prior to death”. He said its claws and ears – where there was no fur – were both reddened and its claws had been clenched in fear.

The chairwoman of the bench, Liz Klyne, told Robins that the magistrates found it “implausible” that another cat had closed the microwave door. She warned Robins that they would look at all options, including jail, when she was sentenced.

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Couple found guilty of deliberately injuring their two pet cats

23.11.11 – Gary Ellis, Tilbury, Essex and Kayleigh Kilbane, Basildon
Sentences: Ellis: 12-week prison sentence; life-ban on keeping cats; Kilbane: 12-week suspended prison sentence; life-ban on keeping all animals

Gary Ellis and Kayleigh Kilbane

Gary Ellis of Brown Close, Tilbury, has been jailed for 12 weeks for deliberately injuring two cats. His partner Kayleigh Kilbane of Cross Court, Basildon, was sentenced to 12 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months with a concurrent supervision order. She was also ordered to pay £500 costs and given a lifetime ban on keeping all animals.

The pair  had denied causing unnecessary suffering to the cats, but were found guilty.

The court heard that suspicions were raised after the couple’s cats kept getting injured. An expert vet told the court that the injuries inflicted on the cats could not have been accidental. They included head injuries as well as injuries to toes and tails.

RSPCA inspector Susan Hammond said:”These injuries were clearly caused on purpose, which is sickening. We are pleased that both have now been banned from keeping cats and loving new homes have now been found for Princess and Angel.”

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Man given community sentence for hitting, punching and kicking Staffy

25.11.11 – Jonathan Bloomfield, Grimsby
Caused unnecessary suffering to a Staffordshire bull terrier dog by hitting him with an object, punching and kicking him
Sentence: 260 hours of unpaid work; £100 costs; 15-year ban on keeping animals

Jonathan Bloomfield

Yesterday (24.11.11) Jonathan Bloomfield, formerly of Stanley Street, Grimsby, and more recently of Owen Way, Brent Park, London, was banned from keeping dogs for 15 years after admitting two counts of animal cruelty.

Appearing before Grimsby magistrates, Bloomfield pleaded guilty to failing to protect Butch – an 18-month-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier – and causing unnecessary suffering to the dog by hitting him with an object, punching and kicking him.

The court viewed footage – filmed between September 9 and October 18 – showed Butch, who vets said may have always had sight problems or even be blind, whimpering and cowering as Bloomfield punched him twice in the face and told him to “shut the **** up”.

Prosecuting, Brendan Woodward said: “The most important image is where he clearly comes outside and punches the dog twice to the head. “We have seen the action and the actions are not a proper way of controlling a dog. Every time that door opened, the dog was not wagging his tail waiting to come in, it was in fear. You can see that in the reaction of the animal.”

Bloomfield claimed Butch had bitten his three-year-old son’s hand when it took a packet of crisps from him, adding he was stressed from work and was “sick of the dog barking”. However, Bloomfield denied any involvement in the footage showing Butch being repeatedly hit with a pole, which was accepted by the prosecution because the person doing it is standing behind a door and cannot be seen on camera.

Magistrates also heard Bloomfield had come under attack after refusing to hand Butch over to a man who came to his door, who then hit him in the face. A short time later an “angry mob” gathered outside Bloomfield’s house and smashed his window, before police were called to the scene.

Bloomfield was arrested and his partner, Michelle Watson, and their son and one-year-old daughter, were forced to flee their home by social services, who told them if they didn’t both children would be taken into care. Butch was taken into the care of the RSPCA.

Banning Bloomfield from owning a dog for 15 years, bench chairman, David Stenton said: “It is pretty clear to everyone this is an awful case of animal cruelty. The dog was clearly very frightened and had been subjected to violence over a period of time. Weapons were used, including piping and fists. We know you received some rough justice and we don’t condone that.”

Bloomfield was also ordered to complete 260 hours of unpaid work and pay £100 costs.

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Billie Piper admits that she abused animals as a child – PETA praises her honesty

The actress Billie Piper has been praised by animal rights campaigners after she confessed her shame at abusing stray pets when she was a child. Piper has admitted she would target animals in streets near her childhood home and “launch” them through the air for entertainment.

She’s confessed she’s wracked by guilt over her behaviour and would dearly love to change the past – but bosses at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have praised her honesty and have asked her to work alongside them in a new campaign.

A PETA spokeswoman said: “PETA is very happy to hear that Ms Piper regrets the casual cruelty that she perpetrated against animals when she was a child – that’s the differencebetween a person with the real potential to be kind and someone who denies wrongdoing, takes pleasure in it and escalates the damaging behaviour.

“Psychiatrists and sociologists can attest that in cases where animal abusers do not regret their ill deeds, they often ‘graduate’ to committing violent acts against human beings – unless someone intervenes to change their path… We will be asking Ms Piper to be a spokesperson for our campaign to sensitise children, parents and teachers to the need to develop compassion in childhood through humane-education training in schools and at home.”

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Woman failed to seek veterinary care for two unwell dogs

28.10.11 – Anita Capon, Faversham, Kent
Incident: Woman failed to seek veterinary care for two unwell dogs
Sentence: 450 hours of community service; ban on keeping dogs (duration unknown)

Anita Capon

Anita Capon, a mother-of-four from St Nicholas Road, Faversham, pleaded guilty to failing to provide veterinary care and causing unnecessary suffering to two pet dogs.

The dogs were discovered when the RSPCA visited Capon’s house in September 2010. Inspectors found one, a Labrador cross-breed, in a collapsed state with a badly ulcerated right eye. The other, a Staffordshire bull terrier cross-breed called Blue, had mange, a bacterial skin condition and was infested with fleas. The dog had developed a serious skin condition that had been left untreated for more than a month.

While Blue was given a temporary home, the 14-year-old Labrador was put down due to old age, being unable to lift his head from the ground and being severely underweight.

The court heard that Capon tried home remedies to treat Blue’s skin condition and took the Labrador to the vet, but was told he would not survive an operation. She said she was unemployed and couldn’t afford expensive vet treatments.

Capon’s lawyer described her client as an “animal lover” with a passion for horses and a house full of dogs, cats and fish. She said: “This was not a deliberate act of causing harm to a dog, she had done the best she could in her limited circumstances”.

Whilst magistrates had warned Capon that her neglect of the dogs was sufficiently serious to warrant a prison sentence, she was instead given a community order. She was ordered to give up surviving dog Blue.

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24 cats found in squalor

21.11.11 – Teresa Bystram, New Haw, Surrey
Incident: Mother-of-eight kept 24 cats in squalor; dead kitten eaten by other cats Sentence: £250 fine; 10-year ban on keeping animals

Teresa Bystram and her filthy home

This is infamous self-proclaimed Raoul Moat “fan” Teresa Bystram of New Haw, near Weybridge, Surrey. In August 2010 single mother Bystram took some of her eight children to killer Moat’s funeral 276 miles from their home, describing the family outing as “better than Legoland”. Bystram described Moat, who shot one man dead and seriously injured two other people, including a police officer, as “a hero” and “a good role model”.

In November 2011 Bystram found herself in the newspapers again having been found guilty of animal cruelty. A total of 24 cats were discovered in Bystram’s filthy home. A kitten had died and its remains partially eaten by other cats.

The RSPCA spent over £30,000 on boarding the cats and prosecuting Bystram, particularly as she originally pleaded innocent. Despite this, Bystram, who sports swastika and White Power tattoos, was ordered to pay just £250.

The court heard that the RSPCA visited Bystram’s home several times between April and June 2011 and found conditions to be “chaotic”. Faeces was discovered in various parts of the house and smeared over the filthy cat pens in the garden. There was no evidence of food being available and the water was dirty. The house was so cluttered with furniture and junk that the cats lacked the space to move about properly.

Bystram was warned to clean up and given advice about how the pets could be re-homed. But subsequent visits by the RSPCA showed there had been little improvement in the cats’ living conditions and during one visit the partially eaten remains of the dead kitten were discovered.

Bystram’s lawyer described his client as “an animal lover” who had let matters get out of hand.

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