Man jailed for 60 days for hamster abuse

Emma · 12-01-2005, 04:47 PM

Just came across this, the man was sentenced last week

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/4467716.stm

Man jailed after kicking hamster

A man who dropkicked a pet hamster as if it was a rugby ball has been sent to prison for 60 days.

John Ackland, 31, of Manor Road, Sherborne, Dorset, kicked the pet three metres through the air, Yeovil Magistrates Court heard.

The "horrific attack" happened at his former girlfriend's home in Wincanton, Somerset, on 3 May.

"This was a sadistic and sustained attack on a defenceless animal," Wendy Mellish, the magistrates' chair, said.

Ackland also used a chair leg to pot Bruno the albino hamster like a snooker ball, and hurled the pet from an upstairs window during the drunken attack.

He then posted the animal through a neighbour's letterbox. The creature was so badly injured during the attack that vets were forced to put it down.

Ackland, who served with the Royal Navy for seven-and-a-half years, had pleaded guilty to a charge of cruelty to an animal at a previous hearing.

I think a 2 month sentence is great - shows you can't get away with this kind of thing "just because its a hamster".

Skwee · 12-01-2005, 04:50 PM

I think this sentence is rubbish simply because whats 60 days? it's nothing. he should get same as for killing a human. murder or at least man slaughter

Emma · 12-01-2005, 04:56 PM

sentences for animal cruelty seem to usually be fines, community service or bans from keeping animals for a period of time - imprisonment seems a step up to me

Emma · 12-01-2005, 04:58 PM

I also think 60 days in prison is actually quite a big deal - can you imagine having your life put on hold for 2 months, held in a prison, probably losing your job, being unable to pay bills, not seeing your loved ones, having a criminal record making it difficult to get finance or a job in the future. It would make anyone think twice and hopefully learn their lesson - especially if they thought something like this was funny or trivial, they won't after 60 days in prison.

souffle · 12-02-2005, 01:11 AM

.....and hopefully the other inmates would kick them around like a rugby ball and see how they like it. There is no excuse for such behavior. If you are a breeder you must be very careful about the homes your hams go to but then pet shops just don't care so bad owners will always have access to pets.

flogging_molly · 12-02-2005, 08:27 AM

This is really shocking. However I am glad that the man is being sentenced and not being let off with "community service" or a fine at least this way he is forced to take responsbility for his actions

**babyboos** · 12-02-2005, 10:01 AM

I read that young children were present during this attack too - the man is completely wicked and truly deserves this sentence.

**pophammy** · 12-02-2005, 11:21 AM

That is purely evil! I cannot believe that someone would hurt any animal that way, never mind an innocent little defenceless hamster! It makes me sick. Just want to hurl him from an upstairs window.

deeboh · 12-02-2005, 02:58 PM

i couldn't even read what actually happened on the first post. (for the record, i never will. i can't bear to carry all the inhumanities that happen. the thought of an animal being hurt is really, truly unbearable for me. everyone i know knows not to go into detail with me.) what i do know is that i hope the nightmares of what he did haunt him for the rest of his miserable life.

**babyboos** · 12-02-2005, 03:03 PM

Oh guys this is awful, my boyfriend just found this article (he works in computers it is a kind of IT current affairs website) http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12...ster_firework/

Youths strap hamster to rocket

Fatal results captured on camera phone

By Tim Richardson

Published Friday 2nd December 2005 15:05 GMT

Police in Scotland are hunting a group of youths who strapped a hamster to a firework rocket before setting it off.

The incident is believed to have happened a couple of weeks ago in the Possilpark area of Glasgow, reports the BBC.

Police learned of the "horrific" incident because it had been filmed using a camera phone and subsequently distributed.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) told the Beeb that the kids who killed the hamster need to be caught because what they did was "not normal behaviour". ®