An 18-year-old male has been banned from owning animals after being convicted at court for animal cruelty offences.
Northumbria Police pursued a case against Aaron Ray after he fatally injured his family’s pet bird in what has been described as a ‘barbaric attack’.
Ray left the cockatiel with catastrophic injuries after plunging a knife into the back of its neck during a fit of rage earlier this year.
Police have now condemned Ray’s “cruel” actions after pursuing a criminal prosecution against the teenager.
Officers found the deceased animal after attending an address in South Hylton on the evening of 11th January this year following a report of a disturbance.
When quizzed by officers, Ray insisted “it’s just a bird, it’s not a crime”.
Now Ray, of Mayfield Road, Sunderland, has been convicted at court after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to an animal when he appeared before magistrates in South Tyneside on 11th June.
He returned to the same court on Friday (26th June) where he received a 12-week sentence suspended for one year. Ray was also handed a 15-year ban from owning animals.
PC Peter Baker, who works as a wildlife officer at Northumbria Police, says Ray’s conviction should act as a reminder that animal cruelty is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated.
PC Baker said:
“Aaron Ray showed a total disregard for the welfare of this bird and inflicted catastrophic injuries that it could not survive from.
“This kind of behaviour is not only reckless and upsetting but a criminal offence – and that’s the lesson that Ray now must learn.
“We are a nation of animal lovers, so it is upsetting to come across incidents such as this where the defendant has caused inevitable and unnecessary suffering to an animal.
“I hope this conviction acts as a serious lesson to others – anybody who causes unnecessary suffering to an animal could face criminal action and a possible jail term.”
Anyone who witnesses cruelty or an animal in distress should contact the RSPCA direct or call 101.
Can you help?
We need your help to ensure that we can continue to bring you the stories, blogs and videos which matter.
One of our many aims is to act as a voice for the emergency services, armed forces and the healthcare sector. Our in-house team of reporters are former emergency services and armed forces personnel.
We are incredibly proud to be able to share the true heroism of our former colleagues with our much-valued civilian readers and followers.
But with ad income continually fluctuating, we need your help so that we can carry on bringing you the stories which many sections of the mainstream media ignore.
You can pledge a one-off payment, a monthly payment or a yearly amount by clicking HERE (PayPal processes all payments).
TOP VIDEO:
Before you go...
WE NEED YOUR HELP. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories & videos which are free from the negative 'anti' bias which is often directed at the emergency services & NHS by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' back in 2018 was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of you, our readers.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
