Courts 'too lenient' on cruelty offenders
MORE than a quarter of animal cruelty offenders brought before the courts last year walked away without being charged for their crimes, the News Letter can reveal.
Figures obtained under a Freedom of Information question reveal the exact number of people brought before Northern Ireland courts in 2008 charged with animal cruelty related crimes, what they were charged with and the punishment they received.
While 38 cases were taken to court, 11 were dismissed or withdrawn, and in at least another four cases, one of a multiple of charges was dismissed or withdrawn.
Broken down, the figures show, out of a total of 112 separate charges, 26 were withdrawn, and 12 dismissed.
As there is no law against puppy farming in Northern Ireland, the News Letter was unable to obtain figures relating specifically to the practice, but the figures received can be broken down into livestock and other animals.
They show a large majority of the charges relate to animals which are not kept as livestock – 73 compared to 30 involving livestock. A further 10 involved owning an animal while disqualified, and one case involving animal-fighting.
In each case there can be a number of different charges, covering a range of offences – some relating to both livestock and non-farm animals – and in terms of convictions, two sentences can be imposed for one charge, for example, a prohibition order, preventing them from keeping animals, as well as a fine.
Of the 112 charges, 43 resulted in monetary fines, 16 suspended sentences, 24 prohibition orders, four conditional discharges, nine prison committals (eight of these refer to one offender, in relation to seven counts of cruelty to animals), and one probation order.
The eight prison sentences relate to William Streeter, who in a high-profile case in July last year was jailed for killing his wife’s dog, after he hung pedigree golden retriever Mac from a rafter in his garage, and kicked and hit him. The 29-year-old was sentenced to six months in jail and banned from keeping an animal for 10 years. But his former wife said the sentence wasn’t long enough.
The News Letter can also reveal figures from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development – which has control over relevant legislation – which show over the last five years, only one person received the maximum disqualification and two people received the maximum prison sentence for animal cruelty offences.
The figures have sparked claims the courts are being too lenient towards offenders, and that many are walking out of court with a slap on the wrist for offences ranging from contravening disqualification orders, to failing to comply with welfare standards, and causing unnecessary pain and cruelty.
DUP Upper Bann MLA Stephen Moutray said he was concerned about how the courts were dealing with such offenders.
“I take animal cruelty as a serious issue,” he said, “and I would be concerned that people who set out to behave in such a barbaric manner are being brought to the courts but not receiving convictions which reflect the nature of the crime.
“The law needs to be regularly under review,” he said. “The law needs to be so robust it will be a deterrent to people who mistreat animals, and there’s also an onus on the courts to hand down sentences which will reflect the seriousness of the issues.”
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