A man from Newcastle received an eight-month suspended sentence, along with a ban from from keeping all animals for five years, for allowing his dog to become emaciated. Prosecution was brought by the RSPCA.
Mark Gallagher was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court for causing unnecessary suffering and failing to meet Tyson’s needs. The adult crossbreed had been spotted looking out of an upstairs window, looking emaciated. Alerted to the situation, a RSPCA Inspector went to visit, finding no one home. Some sticky tape was placed on the door, and as it was still intact the next day, it became clear no one had entered the house since. Tyson was still visible through the upstairs window, and clearly in poor condition.
At that point, Inspector Terri-Ann Fannon requested assistance for the police, who forced their way into the premises. Tyson was found locked upstairs, in a room covered in faeces and urine, with a a small amount of food but no water available. Police seized Tyson, who was taken to a vet for examination and confirmed to be emaciated. There was no medical reason for his poor condition aside for a lack of proper nourishment.
In her witness statement, inspector Fannon said, “Tyson was extremely underweight with every bone visible, his head was cone shaped and sunken in, his hips and spine were all protruding – he had no muscle tone or fat at all. Once at the vets he drank insatiably and constantly wanted more”.
Gallagher admitted Tyson had gone from bulky to looking “like a whippet”, and that he had not sought veterinary treatment, saying he could not afford it. He then admitted that Tyson was never let outside. The room the dog had been locked in was last cleaned about six weeks prior to his rescue.
The RSPCA stated, “In addition to the two year disqualification from keeping all animals which he can not apply to terminate for two years, Gallagher was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months and ordered to undertake 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days with the probation service. His Honour Judge Robert Adams also ordered him to pay £500 costs together with a victim surcharge of £156. Any breaches of the sentence will be reserved to Judge Adams for enforcement and he made it clear he would send Gallagher to prison if he did breach his sentence.”
“Magistrates at Newcastle Upon Tyne Magistrates’ Court had previously (8 July 2022) indicated that their powers to sentence in this case may not be sufficient. This is one of the first of the RSPCA’s prosecution cases where magistrates have committed a case up to a crown court for further consideration, following the coming into force of the demonstrating the seriousness of the offence.
“Previously, the maximum sentence a magistrate could hand down for animal welfare offences was six months in prison – however this was increased ten-fold to five years for certain Animal Welfare Act offences, and, under new guidelines, meant such animal cruelty crimes can now be heard in both magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court to reflect the new maximum penalty.”
Hayley Firman, of the RSPCA’s prosecutions department, commented, “While this man was ultimately given an eight week suspended prison sentence, it is good to see that the courts are applying the new legislation in a way it was intended and giving Crown Courts an opportunity to consider punishments for those offences deemed most serious.”