A Sheffield man has been handed a seven year disqualification from keeping any animal after neglecting his two dogs, two pet snakes and two geckos.
Mark Vines of Holling Croft, Sheffield, was also given an £80 fine and ordered to pay a £32 victim surcharge at Sheffield Magistrates cCurt on 22 January, after admitting two Animal Welfare Act offences.
The six neglected pets were confiscated via a deprivation order.
The court heard that on 5 June last year, while dealing with flooding in a block of flats in Holling Croft, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue found six animals living in filthy conditions and called the RSPCA for help. The pets included a Dutch herder/ German Shepherd type dog, a lurcher, a royal python, a boa constrictor and two leopard geckos.
RSPCA Inspector Kim Greaves attended with fellow Inspectors Vanessa Reid and Jack Taylor.
She said in a witness statement to the court: “I entered the flat, the smell was awful, clearly there had been faeces and debris already on the floor and staircase but due to the flood this had congealed into a putrid foul smelling slurry oozing down the steps, as I ascended the stairs, the smell intensified.”.
Inspector Greaves added: “It was very uncomfortable to be in the environment.”
The two dogs had already been taken outside, and on a search of the flat, the RSPCA team discovered the two leopard geckos and two snakes.
Inspector Greaves – a specialist in exotic pets – was very concerned about the animals and their living conditions. The entire property was wholly unsuitable to house animals, or humans alike.
She said “There were two vivariums at the top of the stairs … In each was a leopard gecko. The ‘vivs’ were stacked on top of one another, the animals were very cold. In the top ‘viv’, a leopard gecko had a small amount of water, but the bowl was quite large for a small animal and [it would have been difficult for the gecko to see or access the water].
“There was a heat cable which was not covered or guarded in any way, so if there was working electricity the animal could have been at risk of thermal burns. The gecko appeared underweight, its tail was quite thin.”
The statement added: “The ‘viv’ was littered with old faeces and urates and appeared not to have been cleaned recently.
“In the vivarium below was an exact replica of the [gecko in the] viv above but [there was] no water at all in there.”
She also found inappropriate conditions in the kitchen adding that the room “had a [dog] training crate in it, inside the crate was a large amount of faeces and empty dirty bowls, everything including all the surfaces had filth and faeces on it, it did not look like it was a usable kitchen at all.”
Next, Inspector Greaves searched the lounge, which due to the clutter and debris, required her to climb over items to move around the room.
She said: “There was a vivarium on the floor which was very dirty with old rotten faeces and urates. It also had no water available; I could not see any heat source within here but I cannot be sure. What I did see was a couple of rotting and decaying rodents (presumably food the snake had not eaten). The snake [a boa constrictor] appeared underweight.
“On the opposite side of the room, another smaller vivarium contained a royal python. This snake had a small bowl with half an inch of foul water in it, and there was lots of mouldy faeces and urates and shed skin all around the ‘viv’.”
The RSPCA inspectors took the dogs and exotic pets to vets so they could all be examined.
The vet reported that the two dogs were both alert and responsive, but underweight. They had faecal staining on their legs and feet. Reviewing the video of the conditions they were living in, which showed extensive build up of faeces and no evidence of fresh food or water, the vet believed the dogs were not having their needs met – in particular, relating to the provision of suitable housing, environment and diet.
In the vet’s opinion, the two dogs were likely to suffer if their circumstances did not change.
A specialist exotic pet vet examined the snakes and geckos. He found that the snakes were not shedding their old skin properly, which can cause skin irritation, infections and further discomfort. He added that this condition is often as a result of poor husbandry.
The vet also noted the snakes had no source of heat or UBV light, and they had not been provided with a secure and temperature controlled environment.
He also found the geckos severely underweight, possibly because they had not been fed for months, adding that malnutrition can lead to metabolic bone disease. He stated that – like the snakes’ – the geckos’ housing was dirty, unkempt and entirely unsuitable, and they also had not been provided with a heat source or temperature controlled environment. He concluded that contrary to the Animal Welfare Act, the geckos’ needs had not been met.
RSPCA Inspector Kim Greaves said: “It is a pet owner’s legal responsibility to properly look after any animal in their care. These poor dogs, snakes and geckos were living in unsuitable conditions and their welfare needs just weren’t being met.
“For those who find themselves struggling, there are many reputable animal welfare charities who can offer help and advice and we encourage anybody in a difficult situation to seek support.”
