John Bagnall, aged 38, of Consett, County Durham, has been handed a suspended prison sentence and an indefinite disqualification from keeping animals after his 16-year-old pet terrier suffered repeated blunt force trauma and was discarded on wasteland to be scavenged by foxes.
The case came to the attention of the RSPCA after members of the public reported concerns that the elderly terrier, named Jake, was being subjected to physical violence.
RSPCA inspectors attended Bagnall’s residence to investigate the allegations. During questioning, Bagnall denied directly beating the animal, but admitted that whenever the elderly dog urinated inside the property, he would seize the pet by the scruff of the neck and forcibly hurl him outside, leaving him exposed outdoors for hours at a time.
Following the dog’s death, Bagnall transported Jake’s body to an area of open wasteland situated directly behind his Consett property and dumped the remains. When challenged by RSPCA investigators, Bagnall openly acknowledged that he had deposited the carcass on the wasteland with the specific intention that wild foxes would consume it.
An independent post-mortem and clinical examination carried out by a veterinary surgeon uncovered extensive internal trauma.
The veterinary findings documented:
- Multiple rib fractures located across both sides of the animal’s ribcage
- Fractures showing distinct and separate stages of physiological healing
- Evidence indicating the injuries were sustained on multiple distinct occasions
- The requirement of significant blunt force trauma to produce fractures of this severity
The veterinary report concluded that Jake had been forced to endure severe physical pain and suffering over a prolonged duration before his death.
Bagnall appeared at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court on 16 September, where he entered a formal guilty plea to one count of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
The magistrates opted against imposing an immediate custodial term, sentencing Bagnall to a 24-week prison sentence suspended for an operational period of two years.
In addition to the suspended sentence, the bench ordered Bagnall to:
- Pay £300 in prosecution costs
- Pay a statutory victim surcharge of £154
- Comply with a lifetime disqualification order banning him from owning, keeping, or participating in the keeping of animals
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
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