We rescued 19 owls, five hawks, one peregrine falcon and one American kestrel after receiving shocking footage from a concerned member of the public.

All of the beautiful birds were owned by a man who claimed to be running a rescue charity for birds of prey. A concerned neighbour began recording his actions when they saw him frightening the birds by shouting at them, as well as physically abusing them.

Guilty of cruelty to birds of prey

The man from Shrewsbury, Shropshire was found guilty of nine animal cruelty offences. 

These included hitting and kicking a snowy owl, hitting and kicking an eagle owl and holding a barn owl by its wing and throwing it to the ground.

 
He was also found guilty of five offences of causing fear and distress to the birds by using a petrol lawn mower immediately adjacent to the tethered birds.

When sentencing magistrates said:

The offences were so serious only custody can be justified. You had special responsibility for these animals and you failed to recognise the consequences of your actions on the animals.

The defendant was handed a 16 week custodial sentence, suspended for two years as well as banned for life from keeping any animal.  

He was also given a curfew order of six months between the hours of 9pm and 7am and ordered to pay £500 costs to RSPCA. 

Indefensible animal cruelty

RSPCA Inspector McCartney, said:

It is indefensible to treat any living creature in this way and, for me, the fact that he claimed to be running a rescue centre for birds of prey makes it even worse.

He took in birds from people who thought they would be well looked after, even showing birds at events to educate the public about them, so he should have been treating them in an exemplary manner which was far from the case.

Your support

Without your support we would not be able to investigate and prosecute in cases like this.

There are many ways you can support us, including making a donation to help make sure we're always on hand to rescue animals like William.

If you're concerned about the welfare of an animal, please call the RSPCA 24-hour cruelty line:

0300 1234 999.

We can't do it without you. Thank you for your support.