Man Jailed After Convicted of Animal Cruelty

Man Guilty of Animal Cruelty Jailed

A 56-year-old man has been jailed for 12 weeks after being convicted of animal cruelty.

Eric Buckley was also banned at Pontypridd Magistrates’ Court from keeping animals for life.

Last month he and his wife Doreen were convicted of animal cruelty, including keeping a pony and goats in their cellar, and breaching previous bans.

The couple, who were living in a former pub in Gilfach Goch, had 24 animals in their cellar, the court was told.

The court heard it was a case of prolonged neglect and the animals had been confiscated.

An arrest warrant had been issued for Buckley earlier on Friday after he initially failed to appear for sentencing.

The pony found in the Buckleys’ cellar

His 46-year-old wife had been taken to hospital suffering from chest pains. Her sentencing was adjourned for a week.

They had admitted five charges of causing unnecessary suffering and two for breaching banning orders.

RSPCA inspectors told last month’s hearing at Pontypridd Magistrates’ Court that conditions were some of the worst they had ever seen.

They had already been banned from keeping dogs for 10 years due to animal welfare breaches in 1993.

After more serious breaches in 1995 both were banned from keeping all animals for life.

Monique McKevitt, for Buckley, told the court on Friday the couple had been on the way to court when Mrs Buckley suffered either an angina or a heart attack.

She said she talked to Buckley on the phone that morning while he was outside a hospital accident and emergency unit.

“She was taken in an ambulance this morning to the Royal Gwent Hospital (Newport),” she told the court.

“It is a possible heart attack, a potentially life-threatening condition, and he is extremely worried about her.”

One of the 11 Grey Hounds Found in Unlit Cellar

Several animals were rescued from Eric Buckley’s home in a poor state

But District judge Jill Watkins said: “Apart from the obvious bond between husband and wife, there is no real reason why he should not answer bail.”

The couple previously appeared before magistrates in Kingston upon Thames, where they were living at the time.

RSPCA inspector Nicola Johnston said it was “beyond anything” she had seen before, after finding nine geese, two goats, a pony, as well as 11 dogs and a cat at the property in June 2010.

The charges the couple faced related in particular to four dogs which were found to be suffering flea infestations, ear infections and oral disease.

At one point up to 13 retired racing greyhounds had the run of the property, which they used as a toilet.

Most though were kept in an unlit cellar, which was almost an inch deep in animal waste.

Ms Johnston said when Eric Buckley was approached about the conditions and asked why he kept so many animals, he answered: “Why not?”

Published on the BBC News Website: 17 June 2011, Last updated at 16:16 GMT

For the full story from the BBC News Website click on the following link: http://tinyurl.com/5s8rmjh

Pony, Geese, 2 Goats, 13 Dogs in Cellar

Pony, Goats, Geese, Dogs in Unlit Cellar

A couple already banned from keeping animals for life were found in a RSPCA raid to have a pony, geese and goats in a “stinking” cellar at their home. Eric and Doreen Buckley had nine geese, two goats, a pony, as well as 11 dogs and a cat in a converted Rhondda pub, Pontypridd magistrates heard.

Both were bailed after admitting five charges of causing unecessary suffering and two for breaching banning orders.

A RSPCA inspector said it was “beyond anything” she had seen before.

RSPCA

The Buckleys were warned they could be jailed.

The court heard how police and the RSPCA raided the Buckley’s “stinking” home in June 2010 only to find they had left over night.

The property, in High Street, Gilfach Goch, was in such a putrid condition, it was regarded as proof of breaching animal welfare rules alone.

At one point up to 13 retired racing greyhounds had the run of the property, which they used as a toilet.

Most though were kept in an unlit cellar, which was almost an inch deep in animal waste.

“I have never seen anything like it before in my life,”
said RSPCA inspector Nicola Johnston.

“Even before going inside the house you could sniff the air outside and realise something was wrong.”

“Inside, it was beyond anything I have ever seen, or hope ever to see again.”

‘Squishing and squashing’

Ms Johnston described how she found worse conditions inside the unlit cellar.

“You stood there in complete blackness squishing and squashing underfoot as you walked,” she added. The air was stagnant and stinking.

This is one of the thirteen dogs in the unlit cellar.

There was particular worry about the 13 dogs condition.

“To think that somebody thought it was a fit place to keep animals was incredible.”

Ms Johnston said three dogs in particular had to receive comprehensive dental surgery as a result of their condition.

“The vet actually said in the case of one dog that it had the worst dental condition he had ever seen in his career,” she added. “He was horrified.”

“It was so bad when the dog’s mouth opened the teeth moved about individually. To keep animals like that is completely unnecessary.”

She said that when Eric Buckley was approached about the conditions and asked why he kept so many animals, he answered: “Why not?”

Buckley, 56, admitted all the charges against him on Friday on the eve of a trial.

The conditions at the house appalled RSPCA inspectors

His wife, 46, failed to attend but had previously made full admissions to all charges through her lawyer.

The charges they faced related in particular to four dogs which were found to be suffering flea infestations, ear infections and oral disease.

“This is a serious case aggravated by the fact that there was an order from a magistrates’ court which you breached and which led to the suffering of these animals,” said district judge Jill Watkins.

They were warned they could face a custodial sentence, with the case adjourned until 17 June.

The couple had already been banned from keeping dogs for 10 years due to animal welfare breaches in 1993.

After more series breaches in 1995 both were banned from keeping all animals for life.

The couple appeared before magistrates in Kingston upon Thames, where they were living at the time, on both occasions.

Some of the geese rescued by the RSPCA

Published on the BBC News Website on the, 27 May 2011. Last updated at 13:40 GMT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-13571423

24 Animals Pony, Geese, Goats, Dogs Found in Cellar

Doreen Buckley’s suspended sentence for animal cruelty

This was the Pony found in the Buckleys' cellar

A woman who was convicted of animal cruelty has been given a suspended prison sentence a week after her husband was jailed

A court previously heard that Doreen and Eric Buckley, of Pontypridd, Wales, UK had 24 animals in their cellar at a former pub in Gilfach Goch, Wales.

But Buckley was absent from Pontypridd Magistrates’ Court last week when her husband was jailed for 12 weeks.

On Friday, she was given the same sentence, but suspended for 12 months.

The court last month heard that the couple had two dozen animals including a pony, geese and goats, in their basement, and had breached previous bans.

District Judge Jill Watkins was told at Friday’s hearing that the Buckleys had continued to keep animals at home.

An RSPCA inspector had been denied entry to the property last Saturday where, the court heard, they were now keeping four dogs, some fish and two ferrets.

Doreen Buckley admitted that reptiles were also in residence.

She had failed to attend court for sentence last week after the court was told she had suffered a suspected heart attack.

Ms Watkins ordered Eric Buckley to attend alone and jailed him when he showed up.

Heart palpitationsShe extended his wife’s bail by a week but asked for proof that her condition was legitimate.

Neil Foley, Doreen Buckley’s solicitor, told the court the hospital which had last week treated her refused to provide proof she had been there.

But he assured the judge that she suffered from both pleurisy and heart palpitations.

Ms Watkins jailed Buckley for 12 weeks, as she had done to her husband the week before, but it was suspended for 12 months.

Doreen Buckley, who was also ordered to wear an electric tag, agreed to sign over all the animals the couple owned to the RSPCA.

A life ban on keeping animals was also reimposed with more stringent conditions than previously.

The couple had been banned for life from keeping animals by magistrates in Kingston upon Thames where they were living in 1995.

This article first published on the BBC Website, 24 June 2011, Last updated at 16:42 GMT

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