A man has been jailed for eight months for causing unnecessary suffering to his dog by cutting his throat with a knife.
David William Betley (Dob: 23/05/1966) of Mill Avenue, Broadway, appeared at Worcester Magistrates’ Court on Friday (11 October).
He was sentenced to eight months in prison (four months for each count – running consecutively), after pleading guilty to two offences* under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
He admitted that he failed to get veterinary treatment for his 17-year-old Staffie, Pincher, who was suffering from weight loss and osteoarthritis, and that he’d killed him by cutting his throat with a knife.
Betley was also disqualified from keeping all animals for life and was ordered to pay costs of £350 and a victim surcharge of £187.
The RSPCA was contacted on 21 February to reports of a dog being attacked in Mill Avenue, Broadway, a village in the Cotswolds.
Animal Rescue Officer Freya Lamb responded to the call and, due to the nature of the incident that had been reported, called police for assistance.
In her witness statement, she said: “[The police] informed me that the dog had been buried in the rhubarb patch in the garden… two police officers dug up the body of a deceased tan male Staffordshire bull terrier.
“The body was still flacid and had a large jagged wound to the front of the neck which was still wet with blood. The dog also appeared to be in poor body condition with his hip and rib bones protruding.
“There was also an area on the grass next to the gravesite that was wet with blood.”
Animal Rescue Officer Lamb asked Inspector Nicola Johnson to take on the case, and she met with police at the station to interview Betley.
Members of the public captured Betley cutting Pincher’s throat on video and reported the incident to the RSPCA. A vet who viewed the footage said, in her witness statement, that Betley could be seen ‘restraining’ Pincher and using ‘what appeared to be a knife to sever the dog’s throat’.
Magistrates asked that the video** was not played in court as they did not want to see it.
The vet also assessed Pincher’s body and established he was incredibly underweight – giving him a body condition score of just 1/9 (with 4 or 5 being a healthy weight).
She also explained in her report that Pincher’s windpipe had been completely cut.
Speaking outside court, RSPCA Inspector Johnson said: “I can only imagine Pincher’s suffering both mentally and physically whilst this unnecessary and shocking act was taking place. Any act that causes unnecessary pain or suffering to any kind of animal is totally unacceptable.
“Our thanks go to the witnesses who acted so quickly to alert the RSPCA and police to this horrific incident. This was a distressing case for all of us to work on but I’m pleased we could bring this matter to court and get justice for Pincher.”
Betley was unrepresented in court but, in mitigation, magistrates were told that he was sorry for what he’d done – but that he reacted after being frightened by Pincher’s behaviour after ‘snarling’ at him. He told magistrates that Pincher was his friend and he knew what he’d done was wrong.
