Dorset cockfight footage leads to man receiving bird ban
Date of alert:
Tuesday, 22 February 2022
Crime Ref:
Force:
Dorset Police
A MAN has been banned from owning birds for 10 years after he was present at a cockfight.
Gerald John Hughes, 49, was prosecuted by the RSPCA after the animal welfare charity was sent video clips showing a crowd gathered around fighting cockerels in a garden.
The RSPCA launched an investigation, which included executing a warrant alongside police in July last year.
Officers reportedly observed a number of birds within an aviary, including a small brown bird, known as a Linnet, that officers suspected had been trapped from the wild and placed in captivity.
The wild Linnet was examined by a vet who specialises in birds, an RSPCA spokesperson said.
They reportedly found the feathering on both wings was very poor and the bird’s tail was in an a bad condition, with the remains of only one feather. There was also damage to the bird’s jaw and loss of feathers to the sides of the beak, it was reported.
