Owners convicted of cruelty as 35 dogs put down

Nov 21 2009 by Tom Mullen, The Journal

More than 100 of the pets have now been re-homed after being transferred to temporary refuge centres.

Young, 29, denied the charges but was found guilty of eight counts of causing unnecessary suffering to animals and three of failing to meet the needs of animals.

Brown, 56, pleaded guilty to three charges of causing unnecessary suffering and two of failing to meet the needs of animals at an earlier hearing.

The pair are due to appear before Teesside magistrates for sentencing next month.

Inspector Hoehne said: “Thirty-five dogs had to be put to sleep, either to end their suffering or because they were going to be impossible to re-home.

“They had been living as pack animals – basically as wild dogs – and sadly this meant that many of them couldn’t go into a home environment.”

The dogs’ discovery is the latest in a string of animal cruelty cases in recent months, which have lead to increasing concerns about animal welfare in the North East.

In June, a Freedom of Information request revealed Northumbria Police had investigated 76 serious crimes against animals since 2007, while Durham Constabulary logged 81 cases.

Last year across Tyneside, County Durham, Cumbria, Teesside, North Yorkshire and Northumberland, the RSPCA prosecuted 191 people for attacks on pets, wildlife and livestock.

Among the worst incidents of cruelty were a yob firing crossbow bolts at a cow, another who set fire to hedgehogs and a man who killed 19 fish by pouring washing-up liquid into a pond.

One of the most high profile cruelty outrages this year involved a teenager who trapped a cat in a bag full of cannabis smoke before swinging it like a lasso. Mark Kane, 20, was banned from keeping animals for 10 years and handed a 12-week jail sentence, suspended for two years.