Scottish man who filmed his dogs attacking wildlife jailed and slapped with animal ban

Edinburgh Live

a day ago

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A Scottish man who filmed his dogs as they hunted, attacked and killed a number of wild animals has been jailed for 12 months.
Brandon Robb, 28, was also slapped with an indefinite ban from owning or keeping animals after pleading guilty to a total of 22 charges back in March.
Footage retrieved from his phones showed the two dogs being encouraged to hunt and attack deer, rabbits, hares, a fox cub and wild birds, as well as a domestic cat, over the course of 20 separate incidents.
Robb then uploaded some of this footage on social media.
Iain Batho, who leads on wildlife crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: 'It is highly important to preserve Scotland's natural heritage, including the wildlife that forms part of it. As such, wild animals are given strict protection by our law
'Brandon Robb's actions had no purpose or motive other than to fulfil his own desire to inflict pain and suffering on innocent animals. The shocking cruelty, quantity and frequency of these incidents will inevitably have had a detrimental effect on the local wildlife population.
'COPFS takes the prosecution of wildlife crime extremely seriously and prosecutorial action will be taken if there is sufficient evidence, if it is appropriate and in the public interest to do so.'
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These offences took place between August and November 2022 in woods and farmland in Fife and Kinross, usually under cover of darkness.
Some of the phone footage seen by the court showed him instructing his dogs to attack animals. In one horrifying scene, he held up the bloodied body of a pet cat which had been attacked by the dogs.
A vet who analysed the video said the cat's eyes showed it had suffered a haemorrhage and its breathing was likely the result of 'extreme stress'.
A member of the public saw Robb highlighting the distressing footage on social media and he was reported to the authorities.
Officers then arrested Robb and after a search of his home they recovered a number of items including multiple mobile phones, two torches, a pair of binoculars and a scope, a spot lamp and a hunting knife.
He was also convicted of assaulting one of the officers during his arrest.
Constable Ben Pacholek, wildlife crime officer, said these crimes were some of the worst he had ever seen.
He said: 'Immense suffering was caused by Robb to these animals. During our enquiries, evidence was obtained from his mobile phone showing how he instructed his dogs to chase the animals and then encouraged them to keep attacking, resulting in horrific injuries and death. He also caused suffering to his own dogs.
'In one video, a dog is ordered to attack a cat in a tree. A fight breaks out which results in both animals suffering. Sadly the cat died.
'In another video a heron is shot with a catapult and a dog ordered to attack it.
'Two dogs are seen in another incident chasing a roe deer and killing it. One dog is also seen with a hare in its mouth.
'In other videos, the dogs can be seen with blood on their muzzles and Robb praising them for their actions.
'This was a complex investigation made harder by the fact that the majority of these offences were filmed on his phone and carried out at night on farmland and wooded areas, making it difficult to identify precise locations.
'Through dedicated police work, the investigation team was able to show that Robb was responsible for his dogs causing unprecedented suffering over several weeks.
'He boasted about the prowess of his dogs and gloried in the suffering of the animals he ordered them to harm. His actions were despicable.
'I would like to thank the public who alerted us to the existence of these cruel and unacceptable videos and I would encourage anyone with information about wildlife crime to report it to police via 101 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.'