Consett yob forced hen to drink whisky
Nov 14 2008 by Neil McKay, The Journal
A YOB forced a chicken to drink whisky and blew cannabis smoke in its face before suffocating it, a court heard.
Gary Maxwell, 21, smashed another hen’s head repeatedly against a shed wall until its neck snapped.
He was sentenced to an 18-month community order with supervision by the district judge sitting at Consett Magistrates’ Court after she heard he had stopped drinking and taking drugs.
Maxwell was also ordered to pay £8 compensation to the hens’ owner, but was spared jail yesterday.
At a previous hearing, Maxwell admitted two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to the birds.
He was living at a hostel in Consett when he grabbed one hen from an allotment in July.
He took the bird back to his room where he drenched it in whisky, forcing it to drink the spirit.
He also blew cannabis smoke in its face, then put the bird in a holdall where it suffocated.
Early the next morning, he grabbed another bird and killed it by smashing its head against the shed.
The allotment owner, Kenneth Brown, raised the alarm and Maxwell was arrested.
He told police he had no recollection of the events, blaming drink and drugs.
A previous hearing also heard how Maxwell had killed a mallard duck five years ago, and claimed he had taken the chicken because he wanted a pet, and had smuggled it back to his hostel.
District judge Mary Hayes described cruelty to animals as a “horrible crime” and warned Maxwell over his future conduct.
She told him: “It was a serious matter. You have got to watch that whatever happens, you control any impulses towards cruelty towards animals, which is a horrible crime, something completely defenceless.”
She praised Maxwell for being drug and alcohol free and urged him to continue with his battle.
“Having heard how hard you have been working at coming off drugs and coming off alcohol, there is no way I’m going to impose custody today,” she said.
Maxwell, now of Bentinck Terrace, Newcastle, raised his middle finger in defiance to reporters after he left the court building, and hid his face as he was driven away in a taxi.
