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Man who left animals to die in squalor is spared jail
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| SPARED JAIL: Alan Magraw, pictured last month leaving court |
A PET shop supplier who left hundreds of animals to die in filthy sheds as a "punishment" has been spared jail.
In a case which horrified experienced RSPCA inspectors, Alan Magraw, 58, fed dead rabbits to cats and left hundreds of animals to die and putrefy in filthy sheds at a North-East farm, Bishop Auckland Magistrates' Court heard yesterday.
In an interview with RSPCA inspectors, Magraw said he was punishing the animals "because of what others had done to him".
When the discovery was made in November last year, some of the emaciated and decaying animals were so badly decomposed, they no longer had internal organs.
Magraw also admitted killing rabbits by striking them on the back of the head, the court heard.
Kevin Campbell, prosecuting, said RSPCA inspector Garry Palmer had been contacted last year by the owners of Low Goosepool Farm, near Middleton St George, near Darlington, where Magraw leased sheds.
Insp Palmer found the decomposing carcasses of more than 260 rabbits and mice, some strewn across the floor and some in dirty cages containing up to five inches of excrement.
Mr Campbell said: "This is probably one of the worst cases of animal cruelty you are likely to come across on the Bench."
The court was shown a video of the scene which showed what looked like bundles of fur in rows and rows of foul cages. Some of the rabbit carcasses' claws were found to be an inch long. Ten cats were rescued, some of which had eye infections or stomach bugs.
Mr Campbell said in the opinion of a vet who examined the bodies, all the animals had been subjected to unnecessary suffering.
He said that Magraw confirmed in an interview that he had killed some rabbits and fed them to the cats.
He said he had been running a pet supply business, providing animals to shops in Darlington and south Durham since 2002, but things had started to get on top of him and he had sold some of the animals.
He also admitted he knew the animals were there and had continued to visit the sheds to feed the cats, but not the other animals, which he admitted he knew would harm them.
"He was punishing them," said Mr Campbell. "He goes on to say because of what other people had been doing to him, he had been punishing the animals."
Graham Sylvester, mitigating, said Magraw had been suffering from depression and had been working more than 100 hours a week at the time of the incident.
He said his client had showed remorse and had not intentionally harmed the animals.
Magraw, of Park Lane, Darlington, was given six concurrent jail sentences of 18 weeks, suspended for two years, and banned from keeping animals for life. He has been subjected to a one-year supervision period and an 18-week curfew, from 8pm to 8am. He was also ordered to pay legal costs of £1,527.
Chairwoman of the Bench, Maria Waller, said: "His prolonged neglect caused the animals to die."
He pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to six charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
4:05am Saturday 25th August 2007
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CommentPosted by: Ros Lamb, Houghton-le-Spring on 1:16pm Sun 26 Aug 07
Why is this man allowed to have his freedom after this series of disgusting crimes? He will go on to reapeat them, mark my words! The Data Protection Act will make this sort of article the only way of finding out what he's done and any bans on future ownership of animals will be rendered useless because of it.
He should be in jail, paying for what he did and at the same time undergoing some sort of psychological treatment in an attempt to get him to change his ways. The judge should be taken to task over his leniency.
The whole thing stinks. Animals deserve better than this.
Why is this man allowed to have his freedom after this series of disgusting crimes? He will go on to reapeat them, mark my words! The Data Protection Act will make this sort of article the only way of finding out what he's done and any bans on future ownership of animals will be rendered useless because of it.
He should be in jail, paying for what he did and at the same time undergoing some sort of psychological treatment in an attempt to get him to change his ways. The judge should be taken to task over his leniency.
The whole thing stinks. Animals deserve better than this.
Posted by: RabbitWise, USA on 9:01pm Sun 26 Aug 07
You should hang your collective heads in shame for allowing this kind of animal cruelty to go unpunished.
You should hang your collective heads in shame for allowing this kind of animal cruelty to go unpunished.
Posted by: awolfie57, USA on 10:25pm Sun 26 Aug 07
This man is obviously mentally ill and should be in a hospital for the criminally insane permanently.He is a danger to himself and others as we well know animal cruelty is the first step before human cruelty. He obviously has endured something that changed him forever and it was probably by a human as a child so 58 yrs later no slap on the wrist will fix him. Those poor animals had to take his sick revenge! Never allow him near much less to own another animal!!!! Poor defenseless animals at the mercy of their captor. Rabbits are so gentle how could he blame them for anything done to him? The poor kitties did not deserve their treatment either-and what he fed them was rotten so lock him up and throw away the key.[bold]bold[/bold]
This man is obviously mentally ill and should be in a hospital for the criminally insane permanently.He is a danger to himself and others as we well know animal cruelty is the first step before human cruelty. He obviously has endured something that changed him forever and it was probably by a human as a child so 58 yrs later no slap on the wrist will fix him. Those poor animals had to take his sick revenge! Never allow him near much less to own another animal!!!! Poor defenseless animals at the mercy of their captor. Rabbits are so gentle how could he blame them for anything done to him? The poor kitties did not deserve their treatment either-and what he fed them was rotten so lock him up and throw away the key.
Posted by: bunnyloves, Cornwall, UK on 4:41pm Wed 29 Aug 07
I was horrified to read this disgusting article; this man is a sadist of the worst kind. To let animals suffer in this way is unconscionable under any circumstances. The fact that he showed remorse does not excuse him in anyway, I doubt if it were genuine anyway and he will undoubtedly do the same thing again. It sickens me that people can treat the perpetually innocent like this and get away with it, therefore telling other sad, sick people that this type of behavior is acceptable.
This man should be locked up for good and the key thrown away.
Josephine Ansaldo-Nixon
I was horrified to read this disgusting article; this man is a sadist of the worst kind. To let animals suffer in this way is unconscionable under any circumstances. The fact that he showed remorse does not excuse him in anyway, I doubt if it were genuine anyway and he will undoubtedly do the same thing again. It sickens me that people can treat the perpetually innocent like this and get away with it, therefore telling other sad, sick people that this type of behavior is acceptable.
This man should be locked up for good and the key thrown away.
Josephine Ansaldo-Nixon
Posted by: angel, Cheshire on 6:17pm Thu 30 Aug 07
Just goes to show that even the most deplorable animal cruelty does not qualify for a jail sentance yet animal protestors get disproportionate sentances for crimes (which I do not condone) which do not harm anyone yet get them put in jail for years. What does it take to get an animal abuser jailed? As for his remorse, b****cks!! He clearly knew what he was doing, let this be a lesson to people who buy pets from pet shops. Rescue centres are the right place to obtain pets where people are checked out before they can have an animal and the kind of people who supply pet shops, like this disgraceful person, do not make money from animal misery!
Just goes to show that even the most deplorable animal cruelty does not qualify for a jail sentance yet animal protestors get disproportionate sentances for crimes (which I do not condone) which do not harm anyone yet get them put in jail for years. What does it take to get an animal abuser jailed? As for his remorse, b****cks!! He clearly knew what he was doing, let this be a lesson to people who buy pets from pet shops. Rescue centres are the right place to obtain pets where people are checked out before they can have an animal and the kind of people who supply pet shops, like this disgraceful person, do not make money from animal misery!
Posted by: compassion38, West Country on 6:40pm Thu 30 Aug 07
This is a disgracefully lenient sentence and the fact he gets off with no jail time sends all the wrong signals.
[bold]An animals life appears to be worth nothing to the judicial system.[/bold]
This is a disgracefully lenient sentence and the fact he gets off with no jail time sends all the wrong signals.
An animals life appears to be worth nothing to the judicial system.
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