Pair's dog 'looked like a walrus'
28th November 2006

Two brothers allowed their Labrador dog to put on too much weight causing it unnecessary suffering, the RSPCA has told a Cambridgeshire court.

Derek Benton, 62, and his brother David, 53, failed to stop the dog's weight soaring to more than 11 stones, Ely magistrates heard.

Vets said nine-year-old Rusty was so fat he looked like a walrus. The brothers, from Fordham, are on trial over a charge of causing unnecessary suffering

Life ban from keeping animals
7th November 2006

A MAN who kept sheep in a greenhouse and hedgehogs in plastic containers has been banned from keeping animals for life.

John Bass (60) was found guilty of nine charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a pig, two dogs, a hedgehog, a pigeon, a pheasant and 151 sheep.

The pig, two sheep, the pigeon and the hedgehog had to be destroyed.

During a trial last week the RSPCA said the hedgehogs were kept in "tiny and filthy"' plastic containers and 149 sheep were kept in a greenhouse

Fined £3,000 for dog's death
24th October 2006

A COUPLE whose dog died after being locked in a car during a heatwave should have been banned from keeping animals for life, says an RSPCA inspector.

Paul and Aisling Wadsworth, of Alderlands Close, Crowland, left two Newfoundland dogs to bake in temperatures exceeding 100F as they visited a butterfly park while on holiday in July.

Both animals suffered severe heatstroke as they were left in the vehicle for more than four hours on the hottest July day since 1911

Couple fined after dog car death
18th October 2006

A couple whose dog died after being left in a car on a hot summer's day have been ordered to pay £5,000.

Paul and Aisling Wadsworth, from Peterborough, had left two dogs in the car at Wroughton. Swindon magistrates allowed them to keep the survivor.

The pair of Newfoundlands were left for more than four hours in temperatures reaching the mid-30s degrees celsius

Airman jailed for killing dog
19th September 2006

An American Iraq war veteran who slashed the throat of his wife's pet dog after she said she was leaving him was starting an 18-week prison sentence yesterday.

Senior aircraftsman Dustin Yandell, 21, who is stationed at the United States airforce base at Lakenheath in Suffolk, killed the Labrador called Goldie seven months after returning from a tour of duty as a combat medic in Iraq, a court heard.

Yandell, who works as a military policeman at the airbase and comes from Clinton, Maryland, had admitted cruelty prior to being sentenced by magistrates in Bury St Edmunds

Pair let rabbits starve to death
13th September 2006

Two pet rabbits found starved to death in their hutch had suffered for at least two weeks, a court heard yesterday.

Their bones protruded through taut flesh, their vertebrae were sticking out and there were serious signs of dehydration, said Sara Young, prosecuting for the RSPCA.

But owners Dean Hines, 34, and his wife Annabelle, 33, had failed to feed the rabbits - bought about six months previously for two of their five children - from a "genuine oversight", said Damian Moore, in mitigation

Couple banned from keeping animals
7th September 2006

A MARCH couple who kept two German Shepherd dogs in appalling conditions, in a ramshackle shelter without bedding in freezing conditions, have been banned from keeping any animal for the rest of their lives.

When the RSPCA turned up at the home of Tony Watkins and Barbara Harris they found the emaciated dogs in a makeshift shelter surrounded by snow -- the animals were covered in mud and faeces and their coats were sodden through to the skin.

Both pets were signed over to the RSPCA. The male dog called Dipsy was rehomed and has recovered from his ordeal, but the arthritis suffered by the female called Sky was so bad that she was put down

Help us find the thugs who killed KitKat'
31st Aug 2006

A CHADWELL St Mary mum is in shock after finding her beloved cat hanged.

Josephine Swanscott, 29, of Biggin Lane, broke down in tears when she saw her cat, named KitKat, hanging from a piece of rope in a nearby road.

Now, she and husband Edward are demanding that the sick perpetrators be brought to justice.

KitKat, who was also adored by Mrs Swanscott's three-year-old son, Teddy, disappeared from the family home on August 2 and was found hanging 25 days later, on Sunday August 27

Woman to pay for cruelty to pony
31st August 2006

Ban for couple who starved dog
14th August 2006

A COUPLE who starved their pet have been banned from keeping dogs for five years.

Dean Copson, 28, and Jackie Rampling, 23, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to two-year- old Boozy, a brindle-coloured grey- hound. The dog was taken from the pair, who live in Oak Tree Avenue, Chesterton, Cambridge, in May. A vet described Boozy as the thinnest dog she had ever seen and extremely emaciated.

He had no body fat and his muscles had started to waste. She estimated the pet had suffered for at least two to three weeks

Cruel thugs shoot swan
27 July 2006

CRUEL thugs have shot a swan in the head narrowly missing its eye.

Malcolm Busby, senior ranger at Milton Country Park, said he is "ashamed to be human" after finding the bird with an air gun pellet embedded in its head- one inch from its eye.

The wild swan, one of just two at the park in Milton, Cambridge, survived but has become another statistic to add to RSPCA figures released yesterday (Wednesday, 26 July) which show animal cruelty in Cambridgeshire is rising

Ban for woman who starved dogs
7th July 2006

Gin trap ordeal of kitten in garden
29th March 2006

RSPCA inspectors found starving cows
17th March 2006

RSPCA inspectors found starving cows covered in sores and more than knee-deep in mud at a farm, a court heard yesterday.

And the inspectors had to spend £86,000 on a year's medical treatment and board for 49 emaciated cows and sheep - because the farmer refused to admit he had mistreated them

Woman caused animals to suffer
14th Feb 2006

WJ Watkins sentence for chicken cruelty
9th Feb 2006

WJ Watkins has been fined £14,500 and ordered to pay RSPCA costs of £75,000. Andrew Day, the farm's manager and Dean Sykes its national poultry manager, will be sentenced on March 1st, after pre-sentence reports have been completed. They could face up to three months in jail.

District Judge Kevin Gray said: "Some hens in the muck pit had been there for six to eight weeks.... they had to eat eggshells, flies and maggots. Some of the birds were in an appalling condition"

A spokesman for Michelmores solicitors, representing WJ Watkins, said: "As a company, WJ Watkins takes the welfare of birds very seriously. Internal procedures have been reviewed to prevent any repeat of this isolated incident..."

Extracts taken from The Essex Echo

Couple banned from keeping cats and dogs for life
4th Feb 2006

Distraught animal owners have been banned from keeping cats and dogs for life after a horrific case of neglect.

Despite their tears and pleas not to lose their pets, magistrates said they simply could not let Peggy Hunt and daughter Eve continue to look after the five cats and three dogs they still keep

Chicken men admit cruelty to farm hens
2nd Feb 2006

More than 1,000 chickens had to be slaughtered after they fell through cages and starved for days living in their own excrement at a battery hen farm, a court was told.

The chickens that fell into the muck pits, owned and managed by WJ Watkins & Sons, were forced to eat decomposing dead hens and developed lumps of encrusted excrement the size of tennis balls on their legs in the days they were trapped.

Family's horror as cat shot

Appeal after cat suffocated with crisps packet

Motorist drove over cat 10 times

A man has been warned he may face jail after running over an injured cat 10 times as he tried to end its suffering.

Brian Haggerty, 58, from Olney, Bucks, pleaded guilty on Friday to cruelly ill-treating and improperly killing Mixey, a one-year-old tortoiseshell.

Dog's skull crushed in rolling pin attack

Family speak of horror as cat strangled by skipping rope

Man traded animal skins and eggs on e-bay site

Ten year ban for man in cruelty case

Couple fined for neglecting sheep
30 September 2005

A couple were ordered to pay £3500 yesterday after keeping maggot-infested sheep on their farm.
John Oldfield, 35, and his wife Amanda, 29, failed to provide sufficient food or water for their flock after they hit financial difficulties.

RSPCA officers were called to investigate and discovered sheep with bleeding, rotting hooves and animal carcases heaped in a trailer.

Mother found guilty of boiling her pet cat alive in washing machine

Women face animal cruelty charges

Two women have been charged with causing unnecessary suffering to more than 350 animals following a high-profile raid. Hundreds of dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs were seized from a North Norfolk smallholding earlier this summer in one of the biggest ever operations in the country

Duck hit by crossbow arrow

A maverick crossbow marksman who fired at a young boy may have struck again - this time targeting a duck at a riverside beauty spot. Full Story...

Dogs suffer 'deformities'

TWO puppies were left too weak to even lift their heads off the ground after being neglected by their owners.

The 13-week-old Lurchers, who were kept on a damp and cold concrete floor in a utility room with their mother, were unable to walk and were in such a poor condition they had to be put to sleep to put them out of their suffering.

All three were also suffering from severe skin diseases when rescued by the RSPCA from a home in Churchfield Avenue, Sawston Full Story...

Neglected chickens rescued by RSPCA
03 August 2005

Hundreds of chickens found neglected in a cramped stable may have been destined for sale on the black market, an RSPCA inspector said. And the society admitted the future of the 400 white birds found at Stratton Strawless, near Norwich, was bleak - 40 were dead at the scene and the rest suffered injuries indicating cannibalism Full Story...

Woman given 25-year ban for cruelty

Dunking a rabbit in a bucket of bleach and battering it with a metal pole has landed Bridget Cole with a two-month suspended prison sentence and a 25-year ban from owning any animal.

The callous 22-year-old was found guilty in June of subjecting a lop-eared rabbit called Lucky to a horrific attack at a party.

She was rapped by Ely Magistrates' Court for pleading not guilty to the animal cruelty charge and criticised for showing no remorse during the trial. Full Story...

Dog thrown 15ft from a balcony
01 June 2005

A MAN who threw his girlfriend's dog off a balcony in a fit of rage after it urinated on his carpet has been banned from keeping animals for three years.

Daniel Harradine, 21, was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service by Ely magistrates' yesterday (Tuesday, 31 May) after he pleaded guilty to the callous attack on January 20. Full Story...

Farmer in court after ewe is found in agony
31 March 2005

A SHEEP riddled with maggots endured weeks of pain after the farmer who owned it failed to get it treated for a severe case of foot rot, a court heard. Graham Wilkinson admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the animal and was ordered to serve 60 hours of community service by magistrates. Full Story

Beloved cat is burnt to death by heartless yobs
29 March 2005

CALLOUS youngsters killed a beloved pet cat by dousing it in barbecue fluid and setting it alight.
So upset: Tracy with her children

Owner Tracy Edwards who discovered Bill's badly burnt body in a play park close to her home has branded the children responsible as "sick".

The four-year-old black and white cat had not been seen for a day or two, when Miss Edwards was told he was dead.

With no-one to look after her children she was forced to take them along to the Cambridge play area off Humphreys Road, Arbury known locally as the helicopter park where she was told Bill was. Full Story

Cruel couple's animal ban is overturned
21/03/2005

A COUPLE whose starving and flea-infested dogs had to be put down have been told by the courts they can still keep animals despite a previous ban.

Deborah Hawes and Keith Bullman were given a life ban on keeping animals in January after pets Judy, a female collie crossbreed, and Tiny Tim, a male German Shepherd, were found in horrific conditions. Full Story

Pets go blind after neglect
05 March 2005

'ANIMAL lovers' who kept livestock in conditions worse then battery hens have been ordered to pay more than £4,000 in fines and costs.

Michael and Mary Foreman were charged with animal cruelty offences following a visit by the RSPCA to their small holding in Moor Drove, Histon, last summer.

RSPCA officers found bantams squashed into small cages and baby rabbits which had gone blind because eye infections had not been properly treated. Full Story

Dog ban for greyhound trainer
17th FEB 2005

A former greyhound trainer, who dumped six greyhounds outside a house and left them in the cold without food, was yesterday sentenced to a 240-hour community punishment order and banned from keeping dogs for five years.
Keith Allen, 58, from Barroway Drove, Downham Market, appeared before Ely Magistrates' Court yesterday for sentence, after being found guilty at an earlier trial of six charges of abandonment of six greyhounds, and one charge of permitting unnecessary suffering

Jail for animal cruelty case woman
17th FEB 2005

A "manipulative" woman who was convicted of cruelty to 87 animals despite trying to pin the blame on the RSPCA has been sentenced to 28 days in prison.
Eunice Carlisle, 49, has also been banned from keeping animals for life after cats, dogs, rabbits, birds and goats were found in filthy conditions at her former home in North Ouse Bank, Stowbridge, near Downham Market