Court reveals pounds 150k cost of cruelty.PET shop owners have received suspended jail sentences in an animal cruelty case which cost the taxpayer over pounds 150,000. Craig Basford, 33, and Lauren Gibson, 25, were convicted at Teesside Magistrates' Court of eight charges of causing unnecessary suffering to 18 animals, including a quail, a cockatiel, parrots, canaries and rats at the couple's home and pet shop in Billingham. Stockton Council launched their investigation after receiving a complaint in August 2006. A search of the Petropolis store in Clifton Avenue and their home in Weardale Avenue revealed floors littered with animal feed, clothing and bird faeces with cages, glass tanks, dirty laundry dirty laundry n. Informal Personal affairs that could cause embarrassment or distress if made public: Let's not air our dirty laundry in front of our guests. Also called dirty linen. and rubbish bags. Officers said they had to provide the animals with food and water and removed 22 dead animals including a finch, cockatiel and an Amazon parrot An Amazon parrot is a large parrot of the genus Amazona native to the New World ranging from South America to Mexico and the Caribbean. Most Amazons are predominantly green, with accenting colors that depend on the species and can be quite vivid. - the latter from the freezer. A total of 356 animals were seized. For the animal cruelty s requirement. They also received eight-week suspended sentences for three licensing offences, to run concurrently. District Judge Harrison also banned them both from keeping a pet shop for life and barred them from keeping animals for seven years apart from a family dog and some tropical fish tropical fish Any of various small fishes of tropical origin often kept in aquariums. They are interesting for their behaviour or showiness or both. Popular varieties include the angelfish, guppy, kissing gourami, sea horse, Siamese fighting fish, and tetra. they already own. They were also ordered to pay pounds 750 towards the council's costs. She said the legal proceedings All actions that are authorized or sanctioned by law and instituted in a court or a tribunal for the acquisition of rights or the enforcement of remedies. have cost a total of pounds 152,000 so far, and "as there isn't a hope of recovering the large amount of that from the offenders" the bill will be footed by the taxpayer. Councillor Steve Nelson, Cabinet member for housing and community safety, said: "I hope this sentence acts as a deterrent to anyone who would even consider treating animals like this." Basford and Gibson, who had pleaded not guilty to all charges, plan to appeal the conviction. Their solicitor, Simon Walker, told Teesside Magistrates: "This couple have lost everything", adding: "Not one single animal removed required any emergency treatment." CAPTION(S): CRUEL: The Gazette tells of the original conviction |
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