Sheep have been butchered, horses have been starved and dying puppies have been sold to innocent dog owners. Animal abusers in Bucks have got a lot to answer for.
This year, many cruel people who thought they could mistreat helpless animals have been hauled before the court and convicted for their crimes.
Punishments have varied, from lengthy prison sentences to community service and bans on keeping animals.
READ MORE: The faces of five drug dealers to avoid around Bucks
Below is a list of the sick abusers who were guilty of being cruel to animals in Bucks this year.
*Caution: some readers may find some content in this article distressing or upsetting*
Cawley family, James Yeboah and others
A gang of cruel puppy farmers who were involved in trafficking sick and dying dogs into the UK were locked up for a combined total of more than 18 years earlier this month.
The Bucks smuggling ring used fraudulent vaccination documents to scam innocent dog owners out of more than £300,000.
After police raided a Travellers’ site in Milton Keynes, 54 dogs were recovered, including cocker spaniels, springer spaniels, Chihuahuas and Labradors.
READ MORE: Cruel puppy farming gang members from Bucks who sold sick and dying dogs are jailed
Some of the pens they were kept in were in poor condition, with nails sticking out and wires hanging down over them.
Six members of the Cawley family were among the 13 defendants who were jailed at a sentencing at Aylesbury Crown Court this month.
James Yeboah, 44, was known as the ringleader. Ten of the defendants admitted to fraud, and nine of them admitted further animal welfare offences.
A further three pleaded guilty to animal welfare charges.
Tamara Lewis
This 57-year-old was banned from keeping animals but was caught with someone else’s horse.
Lewis, of North End Road in Steeple Claydon, had been banned from keeping animals following an offence in 2013, but was caught transporting a stallion between Stratton Audley and Steeple Claydon.
READ MORE: Bucks woman known as a risk to animals is caught with someone else’s horse
She was considered to pose “medium risk of harm” to horses and had failed to tell the owner that she was banned from transporting them.
Appearing at Buckinghamshire Magistrates’ Court in July, Lewis pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching a disqualification in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Magistrates issued her with a further five-year ban on keeping animals and she was given an eight-week prison sentence suspended for two years.
She was also ordered to pay £428 costs and complete 120 hours of unpaid work.
Conrad Mills
This 45-year-old has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years after he failed to get treatment for a dog that had suffered severe burns.
Between December 26, 2019 and January 7, 2020, Mills caused suffering to male mastiff dog Sampson by failing to get veterinary care for his wounds.
READ MORE: Bucks man made dog 'suffer' by failing to get severe burns treated
Appearing at Wycombe Magistrates’ Court in May, Mills, of Angus Drive in Bletchley, denied a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
The magistrates found him guilty at a summary trial and he was conditionally discharged for three years. He was also banned from keeping animals for 10 years and ordered to pay £371 costs.
Roger O’Donoghue
This 22-year-old man admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a dog by failing to properly feed her.
Appearing at West and Central Hertfordshire Magistrates’ Court, O’Donoghue. Of Gomm Place in High Wycombe, pleaded guilty to a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
READ MORE: Dog owner who mistreated and failed to properly feed dog banned from keeping animals
The court heard how in June 2020 he failed to properly feed a female lurcher type dog, and also failed to get a painful skin condition she was suffering from treated.
He was banned from owning dogs for two years, ordered to pay £400 compensation and told ot carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
Steven Challis
A horse that was under the care of this heartless criminal had to be put down after he let her starve and failed to get a vet to treat her.
59-year-old Challis, of Brickfield Lane in Burnham, denied that he was the owner of Bonny the mare, but admitted that he had been her carer for at least the last 15 years, feeding and maintaining her.
READ MORE: Burnham man sentenced and banned from keeping horses
When RSPCA officers went to see Bonny, they could see from a distance how skinny she was, with her ribs, spine and hips all prominent.
She also had a dirty bandage over swollen knee, covering up an infected wound.
After she was examined by a vet, they deemed that the most humane thing to do was to put her to sleep.
Appearing at Reading Magistrates’ Court in March, Challis was found guilty of three animal welfare offences.
He was sentenced to a 16-week imprisonment suspended for one year, told to carryout 180 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,000 costs. He was also banned from keeping horses for four years.
Persons unknown:
There have not yet been any convictions in this case, but police are continuing to investigate.
Two sheep were butchered in what was described as a “deliberate attack” by a person or persons near Aylesbury.
Between Saturday, March 6 and Sunday, March 7, the helpless animals were approached by the offender or offenders, who were thought to have been armed with cutting implements.
One of the sheep that was attacked had also been pregnant, and the ordeal led to the death of her three unborn lambs.
READ MORE: ‘Enquiries remain ongoing’ after sheep attack near Aylesbury
Another sheep managed to escape, jumping over several fences, and was found “exhausted” later on in the River Thame.
Posting on social media, the Buckinghamshire Conservation Trust said: “The photographs are too horrendous to post and is devastating for the farmer to deal with.
“This dastardly attack has been reported to the police.“Visitors are asked to be vigilant and if you see anyone behaving suspiciously on the site please report it to the police."
Police are continuing to investigate this crime. If you have any information, contact the police on 101 using reference number INC 202103070975.
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