Video: Three
Grimsby men jailed in shocking animal cruelty case (update)
Friday, March 01, 2013
THREE Grimsby men
have been jailed after admitting a total of 30 counts of animal cruelty
including setting dogs on wild foxes and a badger – and then watching them
being slowly savaged to death.
Liam Ardito, 33,
of Newbury Avenue, Great Coates, Gary Cannon, 27, of Alfred Bannister Mews,
Laceby, and Mark Smith, 53 of Broadway, Grimsby, carried out the
sickening attacks - some of which they recorded on video, between April 19
2010 and August last year.
All three were
jailed for four months on each count to run concurrently.
Ardito and Smith
were banned from keeping dogs and birds for at least 10 years and Cannon from
keeping dogs for at least 10 years.
Nigel Burn, prosecuting
for the RSPCA, described their behaviour as “intentionally cruel”, telling
district judge Daniel Curtis, sitting at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court, it
amounted to “torture”.
Smith had
“thousands” of images of dogs attacking animals on his computer, and memory
sticks found in his home, the court heard.
Clive Rees,
mitigating for all three men said there was “no justification” for their
actions. He added the best he could say for his clients was they had been
winding down their activities, saying they believed it was “getting too hot
and too heavy.”
Liam Ardito
admitted the following charges:
Causing
unnecessary suffering to dog by causing it to fight with another animal
Jointly causing
unnecessary suffering to a fox by causing it to be attacked by a dog
Causing an animal
fight between a dog and a fox
Jointly with Gary
Cannon causing unnecessary suffering to a fox by causing it to be attacked by
a dog
Causing an animal
fight between a dog and a badger
Causing
unnecessary mental suffering to a fox by caging it
Jointly with Gary
Cannon causing unnecessary suffering to a fox by causing it to be attacked by
a dog
Jointly with Gary
Cannon causing unnecessary suffering to fox by causing it to be attacked by
two dogs
Jointly with Mark
Smith causing an animal fight between two dogs and another animal
Jointly with Mark
Smith causing unnecessary suffering to a black and tan terrier by making it
fight with another animal
Jointly with Mark
Smith, taking wild birds, namely sparrowhawks
Keeping premises
for use in animal fighting
Gary Cannon
admitted the following charges:
Jointly with Liam
Ardito causing unnecessary suffering to a fox by causing it to be attacked by
a dog
Jointly with Liam
Ardito causing an animal fight between a dog and a badger
Jointly with Liam
Ardito causing unnecessary suffering to a fox by causing it to be attacked by
dog
Jointly with Liam
Ardito causing unnecessary suffering to a fox by causing it to be attacked by
two dogs
Jointly with Mark
Smith causing unnecessary suffering to a fox by causing it to be attacked by
a dog
Mark Smith
admitted the following charges:
Being present at
an animal fight between a fox and a dog.
Aiding and
abetting Liam Ardito in causing unnecessary suffering to a fox by causing it
to be attacked by a dog.
Two counts of
aiding and abetting Liam Ardito and Gary Cannon in causing unnecessary
suffering to a fox by causing it to be attacked by a dog.
Being present at
a fight between a dog and a badger.
Being found, in
Broadway, in possession of a trap for the trapping of wild birds.
Aiding and
abetting Liam Ardito and Gary Cannon in causing unnecessary suffering to two
terrier dogs by causing them to fight with a fox.
Aiding and
abetting an unknown person to cause unnecessary suffering to a fox by causing
it to be attacked by a dog.
Together with
Liam Ardito, at Littlecoates Road, causing an animal fight between two dogs
and an unknown animal.
Together with
Gary Cannon, causing unnecessary suffering to a fox by causing it to be
attacked by a dog.
With Liam Ardito,
causing unnecessary suffering to a black and tan terrier by causing it to
fight with an unknown animal.
Possessing a wild
bird, namely a curlew.
Possessing a wild
bird, namely a rook.
North West Hunt
Saboteurs Association"
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