Animal abuse and neglect continued to make headlines in Merseyside this year – with four men jailed for acts of horrific cruelty towards pets and others narrowly escaping being sent to prison.
Among the offenders brought to justice by the RSPCA and police were a pensioner who shot a “nuisance” sea gull, a child killer who broke a puppy’s jaw and a primary school headteacher who neglected her elderly dog.
An inspector for the organisation today praised the public for their crucial help in bringing offenders to justice – and said courts needed the power to hand out tougher sentences.
Wirral RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes said: “We have either end of the spectrum in Wirral and on Merseyside.
“The vast majority of people will report it to us and make a stand, and at the other end you have the minority who abuse their animals. The level of cruelty we see is shocking.
“I deal with cases of beatings on a daily basis, which are very difficult to bring to court.
“We really appreciate the members of the public who will report things. Without them saying ‘that’s not right’ and informing us, we couldn’t do it. I also have to thank them for their patience, because investigations can take time and it must be frustrating for them.”
Inspector Joynes, who owns a seven-year-old crossbreed called Bella, said there should be tougher punishments for animal abusers, but courts are currently limited in the sentences they can hand out.
He said: “The punishment for animal welfare act offences are summary only at the magistrates court and can carry an unlimited fine and/or six months in prison.
“People say ‘That’s disgusting with the sentence they’ve given’ but that’s the upper limit.
“We are in an area where people won’t stand for animal cruelty and neither will our courts, but generally I don’t think the punishment fits the crime.”
Here are seven of the most shocking cases covered by the ECHO this year:
West Kirby pensioner shot “nuisance” sea gull
X-rays of the air pistol pellet in the wing of a seagull shot by West Kirby pensioner Clive Cresswell in his garden on Brookfield Gardens
Retired lorry driver and music shop worker Clive Cresswell appeared before Wirral magistrates’ court in August charged with intentionally injuring the Herring gull, a protected species, on June 5.
The court heard the 68-year-old, of Brookfield Gardens, had shot the bird – which was left with a fractured wing and had to be put down – with his Walther CP88 air pistol after becoming infuriated with the gulls he regards as “flying rats” and “vandals”.
He pleaded guilty to the charge and was ordered to pay £911.30 in costs and given a 12-month conditional discharge.
Outside court he told reporters seagulls were “vandals” and “horrible things”.
Neglected dogs were on the brink of dying from starvation
RSPCA photo showing the condition of two dogs owned by Sean Powell, of Hoole Road, Woodchurch. He admitted causing unnecessary suffering to crossbreeds Marley and Zina between March 4 and 18 this year
Sean Powell was jailed for three months and banned from keeping animals for ten years after a court heard his pets were a week from death and had been left living in a faeces-covered yard.
Powell, 27, of Hoole Road, Woodchurch, appeared in Wirral Magistrates Court in July charged with causing unnecessary suffering to crossbreeds Marley and Zina between March 4 and 18 this year.
He admitted the charge and also pleaded guilty to failing to provide them with a suitable environment and failing to protect them from suffering.
Man who killed his young son broke puppy’s jaw
Wirral RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes and vet nurse Lauren Harrison, who has given pug puppy Ruby a new home. Ruby’s jaw was broken by her owner Lee Michael, who was later jailed for 24 weeks.
In one of the year’s most high-profile cases, Lee Michael, 34, of no fixed address, was jailed for 24 weeks in September over sickening attacks on pug puppy Ruby – formerly called Babs – and cat Lary in Thingwall.
It later emerged that Michael, formerly known as Lee Khair, had previously been sentenced to seven years in prison for the manslaughter of his two-year-old son Ryan Franklin-Khair.
He pleaded guilty to five charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal before skipping bail – but was traced to London and brought back to Merseyside for sentencing in September.
Babs, who was renamed Ruby, survived and was given a new home by veterinary nurse Lauren Harrison.
Owner neglected his cancer-stricken dog
Wirral Magistrates Court
Michael Williams, 59, of Kendal Road in Wallasey, was jailed after neglecting his cancer-stricken dog and missing veterinary appointments which could have saved her.
An RSPCA inspector who called at his house on December 19 last year found him smoking and drinking with friends while 10-year-old Stitch lay nearby with a gaping wound in her abdomen.
Vets said the Staffordshire bull terrier would have been in “significant pain” and she was put down to end her suffering.
Williams failed to turn up at court in April and was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal by magistrates in his absence.
He was sent to prison for 20 weeks, banned from keeping animals for life and ordered to pay £500 in costs.
The dogs left to die at Creamfields
PRW Paul Cave, of Oldham who left two dogs in a hot car at Creamfields festival has been disqualified from keeping animals for life.
Security guard Paul Cave was banned from keeping animals for life at Halton Magistrates Court in July after he left two Rottweilers to die in a hot car at the Creamfields festival near Runcorn in August 2014.
The 60-year-old, of Eton Avenue in Oldham, was also given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £260 costs.
He was sentenced after security dogs Rebel and Zola died on August 23 at Creamfields near Daresbury after they had been left in the car for just under three hours
He was found guilty in his absence in February of three offences – causing unnecessary suffering to two Rottweiler dogs by confining them in an environment that was detrimental to their wellbeing; failing to take steps to ensure that the needs of the dogs were met by providing a suitable environment; and failing to protect them from pain, suffering and injury.
Headteacher lost job after neglecting elderly dog
Liverpool headteacher Susan Horncastle has been banned from keeping animals for life after a court heard her 17-year-old West Highland terrier Snowy “suffered on numerous levels”. Photo from the RSPCA
Susan Horncastle lost her job at Our Lady of Good Help in Wavertree after neglecting 17-year-old West Highland Terrier until the animal smelt “like rotted flesh”.
Wirral Magistrates Court heard the 60-year-old, of Brookthorpe Close, Wallasey, had left West Highland terrier Snowy “suffering on numerous levels” and the dog was put down by vets.
She pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and in November was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for two years. She was also told to pay RSPCA costs of £997 and court costs of £150.
Warrington thug battered dog to death
Halton Magistrates Court in Runcorn.
Jack Russell terrier Molly was beaten and left lying in a pool of blood by Paul Wilcock, 48, in the hallway of his brother’s home.
Wilcock, of St Peter’s Way, Warrington, was jailed for four months in July after forensic evidence was used to match Molly’s blood with stains on his clothes.
Runcorn Magistrates’ Court heard that a police officer found the dead dog when called to a domestic incident in the early hours of August 16 last year.
Wilcock admitted two offences under the Animal Welfare Act; causing unnecessary suffering to Molly and failing to protect her from pain, suffering and injury.
He was also banned from keeping pets for life and ordered to pay £400 in costs.
Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/