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Animal cruelty brings big fines



A MORECAMBE man who illegally hunted a hare with dogs for pleasure has been ordered to pay nearly £3,000.

Robert MacIntyre of Heysham, pleaded guilty at Preston Magistrates' Court after he was spotted by a member of the public releasing two lurcher-type dogs to chase a hare on farmland on Bradshaw Lane, Eagland Hill, Preston on November 23 2008.

MacIntyre was fined £350 and ordered to pay £2,500 costs plus a £15 victim surcharge. He was also ordered to forfeit all hunting-related materials in his possession.

At the same hearing, a Lancaster man pleaded guilty to failing to meet the needs of a lurcher-type puppy.

Zachary Robinson-O'Connor was fined £350 and ordered to pay £5,000 costs plus a £15 victim surcharge. He was banned from keeping dogs for two years, deprived of keeping the three lurcher-type dogs formerly in his care and ordered to forfeit all hunting-related materials in his possession.

Information gathered by the RSPCA and police led to a raid on both men's properties on December 8 2008, where a lurcher-type puppy was found to be living in its own filth in an unventilated garage next to Robinson-O'Connor's home.

Hunting paraphernalia, including rabbit carcasses, terrier locator collars, maps, lamps, spotlights and books and DVDs on hunting and lamping were seized from both men's homes, together with mobile phones, a laptop, and cameras.

Magistrates were told both men were sorry for what had happened and realised they had done wrong. RSPCA inspector Simon Small said: ‘The sentence handed down in this case reflects the serious nature of the offences and serves to show that illegally hunting down animals for pleasure cannot and will not be tolerated. Similarly, keeping a young animal in a filthy, unventilated environment without thought or regard for its welfare is both unthinkable and unacceptable.’


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