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The Journal
4 days ago
- The Journal
Man faces sentence after 'malnourished' Dobermann found living in small cage covered in faeces
A PANEL BEATER faces sentencing after animal welfare inspectors last year found his malnourished Dobermann confined in a squalid cage without fresh water, mired in her own excrement, at a Dublin property. Richard Vynsiauskas, originally from Lithuania but with a residential address at Old North Road, Coldwinters, failed to turn up for his scheduled hearing at Dublin District Court. Judge Anthony Halpin convicted him in his absence and issued a bench warrant to bring him before the court to be sentenced. He faces prosecution under the Animal Health and Welfare Act. It follows an inspection by the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA), which had to retrain the seven-year-old dog since renamed Delilah before she could be placed in a new home. DSPCA inspector Shane Lawlor told prosecutor Danny Comerford BL that he went to the property on 16 April last year following an allegation that the dog was cruelly treated. There was no one there when he arrived, and he found that the large Dobermann, weighing 45 kilograms, was kept in a six-foot by six-foot cage with a makeshift kennel inside and a broken shelter. The enclosure was covered in faeces and the court heard that 'the smell was extremely overpowering'. There was no clean water, and the dog came out of her kennel 'very scared' and was suffering mentally. He described the Dobermann as 'whale-eyed,' a term to describe a frightened and nervous dog. She was 'pacing around, constantly standing in her own faeces, nowhere to sit or eat without standing or lying in her own waste'. The conditions inside her kennel were the same. The inspector told Mr Comerford that his chief concern was that the animal had nowhere to move and was very scared. She looked malnourished and had inadequate shelter or space to express her behaviour. The accused agreed to surrender the dog. The DSPCA witness said a Dobermann, as an intelligent breed, responds well to training, but this dog was left 'to waste away'. That can lead to boredom and aggression, and it took the DSPCA just over six months to correct her behaviour before she could be re-homed. The court heard Vynsiauskas told him that he had 'no time' to look after or let the dog out. The judge also noted she was not micro-chipped, the owner had no licence, and she had never been brought to a vet. Photos of the dog's living conditions were furnished to the court. The accused could face a €5,000 fine and six-month imprisonment. Advertisement
Agriland
23-05-2025
- Agriland
Court: Man who stole sheep and cut throat of pregnant ewe jailed
By Anne Lucey A 29-year old man who stole a sheep and also cut the throat of a pregnant ewe near Killarney in Co. Kerry has been handed down a 16-month sentence, with six months suspended. A victim impact statement by farmer Con O'Riordan at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee spoke of his horror and shock at what he came upon. The farmer, who had to pay the costs of the disposal of the animal, also said that the barbaric act has not left him. Richard Daroczi, previously of Ely O'Carroll Place, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, and a Hungarian native, pleaded guilty to stealing 'a ewe sheep in lamb' worth €500, the property of Con O'Riordan on January 5 at Cummeenabrick, Clonkeen, Kerry. He also admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal under the Animal Health and Welfare Act, 2013. Daroczi was assisted by a Hungarian translator and represented by barrister Kate O'Connell, instructed by solicitor Eimear Griffin. Sheep In evidence, Garda Sergeant Nigel Shevlin said that Con O'Riordan is a sheep farmer living in Kilgarvan who has land at Cummeenabrick, Clonkeen. 'It's sheep country and there are no residential properties there,' he said. The court heard that the flock were in lamb. At 12.45p.m on January 5, Richard Daroczi pulled up at O'Brien's Filling Station and got fuel and drove off without paying, the garda outlined. That afternoon Con O'Riordan was on his land and he saw the accused with one of the sheep, which was a ewe in lamb. Daroczi said the sheep was his. He had cut the throat of the sheep. Gardaí were alerted and the accused had fled but his car was there. The ewe was identified by the tag, Sergeant Shevlin said. Two days later, entrails of another animal was found in the locality by neighbours. 'The accused man's car had been searched and meat was found, but that animal could not be identified as the tag had been removed,' Sergeant Shevlin added. The next day, a man met the accused at a filling station in Tralee and the accused offered to sell him a lamb. Sergeant Shevlin said that what the accused was doing was going to remote areas to take sheep and killing them to butcher them and then sell them on to members of the public. Farmer A victim impact statement was read by Sergeant Shevlin on behalf of Con O'Riordan, who was in court. The farmer told how he came 'across this man carrying a knife and he had an animal beside him and its throat was cut'. 'I was and am still shocked by this, I had never seen anything like it before and never wish to see it again. 'It was the sheer barbarity of it and his attitude when I met him. He didn't care at all, it was like he thought there was something wrong with me for caring. He showed no remorse.' 'The two ewes would have hardly come to €500 and to add insult to injury I had to pay another man €200 to remove the other sheep away to prevent them being butchered,' he said. O'Riordan said it had never struck him previously that such a thing could happen, but ' it was always in his head now this could happen again'. Katie O'Connell, defence barrister said her client 'is very apologetic' and that he had been homeless at the time. 'He never came to attention of gardaí for anything like this before. He seems to have just gone off the rails entirely. He was homeless at the time and trying to sell the sheep,' she said. Jail Judge Ronan Munro said that he understood why Con O'Riordan was shocked. He said the accused is entitled to credit for his plea of guilty, and sentenced him to a total of 16 months – 10 for the theft of the sheep; six for the cruelty, and the fuel theft was also taken into consideration. The final six months of the sentence has been suspended for three years. The sentence of 10 months was backdated to January 25. Richard Daroczi was ordered to stay away from Con O'Riordan's land and stay out of Kenmare and Kilgarvan.
Irish Examiner
22-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Man jailed for cutting sheep's throat and stealing another from Kerry farm
A man who stole a sheep and also cut the throat of a pregnant sheep near Killarney has been handed down a 16-month sentence with six months suspended. At the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee, a victim impact statement by farmer Con O'Riordan spoke of his horror and shock at what he came upon. The barbaric act has not left him, the farmer who had to pay the costs of the disposal added. Hungarian native Richard Daroczi, aged 29, previously of Ely O'Carroll Place, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, pleaded guilty to stealing 'a ewe sheep in lamb' worth €500, the property of Con O'Riordan on January 5, at Cummeenabrick, Clonkeen, Co Kerry. He also admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal under the Animal Health and Welfare Act, 2013. He was assisted by Hungarian translator and was represented by barrister Kate O'Connell, instructed by Eimear Griffin solicitor. Garda Sergeant Nigel Shevlin told Tom Rice, prosecuting, that Mr O'Riordan is a sheep farmer living in Kilgarvan who has land at Cummeenabrick, Clonkeen. "It's sheep country and there are no residential properties there," Sgt Shevlin said. At 12.45pm on January 5 last, Daroczi pulled up at O'Brien's filling station, got fuel, and drove off without paying, the garda outlined. That afternoon, Mr O'Riordan was on his land and he saw the accused with one of the sheep — which was a ewe in lamb. Daroczi said the sheep was his. He had cut the throat of the sheep. Gardaí were alerted and came from Cork. The accused had fled, but his car was there. The ewe was identified by the tag, the sergeant said. Sale offer Two days later, entrails of another animal was found in the locality by neighbours. "The accused man's car had been searched and meat was found," added Sgt Shevlin, "but that animal could not be identified as the tag had been removed." The next day, a man met the accused at a filling station in Tralee and the accused had offered to sell him a lamb. The accused was going to remote areas, taking sheep and killing them to butcher them and then sell them on to members of the public, Sgt Shelvin told Mr Rice. A victim impact statement read by Sgt Shelvin from Mr O'Riordan, who was in court, told how he came 'across this man carrying a knife, and he had an animal beside him and its throat was cut. I was and am still shocked by this, I had never seen anything like it before and never wish to see it again 'It was the sheer barbarity of it and his attitude when I met him. He didn't care at all, it was like he thought there was something wrong with me for caring. He showed no remorse. 'The two ewes would have hardly come to €500 and to add insult to injury, I had to pay another man €200 to remove the other sheep away to prevent them being butchered.' Apologetic Mr O'Riordan said that the fact that such a thing could happen had never struck him previously, but 'it was always in his head now that this could happen again'. Ms O'Connell said her client 'is very apologetic' , adding that he had been homeless at the time. 'He never came to attention of gardaí for anything like this before. He seems to have just gone off the rails entirely. He was homeless at the time and trying to sell the sheep," she said. Judge Ronan Munro said that he understood why Mr O'Riordan was shocked. He said the accused is entitled to credit for his plea of guilty. He sentenced him to a total of 16 months — 10 months for the theft of the sheep; six months for the cruelty, and the fuel theft was taken into consideration. The final six months has been suspended for three years. The sentence of 10 months was back dated to January 25. Daroczi is to stay away from Mr O'Riordan's land and stay out of Kenmare and Kilgarvan.
STV News
25-04-2025
- STV News
Woman locked three dogs in 'extremely cramped' cage and left months of faeces in litter box
An Aberdeenshire woman has received a five-year animal ban after keeping her pets in 'appalling' conditions. Demi Crowley pled guilty at Banff Sheriff Court on Wednesday, April 16, to neglecting her three dogs and cat. Police Scotland contacted the Scottish SPCA in May last year after they visited a property and were concerned for the animals' welfare. The three dogs were found all locked into one cage, in 'extremely cramped' conditions, with no access to water or food and 'obviously stressed'. Several months of faeces had built up in the cat's litter box, with the cat locked in the bathroom with what was described as an 'eyewatering' smell. The house was described as in a state of 'disarray', with clothes and rubbish scattered throughout. Crowley also received a community payback order, with supervision for a year, and the pets were seized under the Animal Health and Welfare Act to 'prevent further suffering'. A Scottish SPCA inspector said: 'We attended the same day and police officers confirmed three dogs had been locked in a cage. 'They had removed the dogs from the cage due to extremely cramped conditions, and the dogs were in direct sunlight on a hot day, panting, with no water, and were obviously stressed. 'Upon entering the property, I saw that the living area and kitchen were in a state of disarray, with clothes, rubbish, boxes, and dishes scattered across all surfaces and worktops. 'The cage the dogs had been shut in should only house one medium-sized dog at most, and only be used for short periods, and not left in direct sunlight. 'The three dogs were in reasonable condition. 'The cage was empty on my arrival as police had let the dogs out. However, I observed no water, no bedding or comfort and no food bowls. The cage was dirty and had nothing but the plastic tray at bottom. 'The cat was within the bathroom and on opening the bathroom door, the smell of urine, faeces and ammonia was overwhelming and eye-watering. 'A tabby coloured female small Bengal type cat came over to the door and appeared in good condition although she smelt horrendous indicating she had been there for some time'. 'The litter tray can only be described as disgusting with nothing but solid faeces built up over several months and the cat had resorted to defecating on the floor and surfaces, there were empty food containers and rubbish strewn throughout but no fresh water or food. 'We seized all four animals under Section 32 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 to secure their welfare and prevent further suffering. 'We are pleased Crowley received a five-year ban. The conditions these animals were found in and subjected to were completely unacceptable.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
