var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime() Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: 1 dog, 4 cats starve to death in squalor - Aylesford Walk, Halliwell, EN (UK)
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Case ID: 16742
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull)
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Drugs or alcohol involved
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1 dog, 4 cats starve to death in squalor
Aylesford Walk, Halliwell, EN (UK)

Incident Date: Sunday, Jun 6, 2010

Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 2 files available

Defendant/Suspect: Lorraine Peake

PETS left trapped inside a house for weeks were forced to eat each other in a bid to survive, a court heard.

Alcoholic Lorraine Peake abandoned a dog and four cats at her home in Aylesford Walk, Halliwell, where they were left to starve to death.

Now the former pub landlady is facing jail after being convicted of animal cruelty at Bolton magistrates court.

RSPCA inspector Jason Bowles said after the case: "This is the most extreme case of this type that I have been involved with. It does not get any worse than when animals have to eat each other in desperation to try and survive, and then die of dehydration and starvation.

"I will never forget that scene because it was so distressing."

The court heard that Peake's brother contacted police on June 6 after visiting the house and finding the dead doberman and four black and white cats.

Tony Stock, prosecuting, said: "They were met with a smell that was overwhelming and there was rubbish and animal faeces throughout the property.

"The dog was found in the kitchen, lying across a chair, with its ribs showing through the fur.

It was emaciated and had maggots dripping from it.

"In the living room there was a thick layer of feces along the window.

"The RSPCA inspector formed the opinion that the animals were left to their own devices for a long time.

"There was no food or water in the house and all the windows were shut."

The court was told that one of the cats had been dead for up to 19 days and was "feasted upon by the surviving animals".

The other animals had been dead for between seven and 10 days.

The court heard that Peake, aged 48, had not been living at the house for the previous three months and had gone into rehab two days before officers were called.

Peake, who used to be landlady of the Cotton Tree pub in Prince Street, School Hill, claimed that she had paid a man called Andy £50 to look after the animals.

But Mr Stock said when interviewed she was unable to provide any more details about him.

Mr Stock added: "The RSPCA's position is even if there is truth in the arrangement, it is grossly inadequate. She accepts that she walked past the address but chose not to call in and check that everything is as it should be."

Peake, of Union Road, Tonge Moor, pleaded guilty to five counts of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal between May 13 and May 27.

The magistrates were shown pictures of the dead animals and conditions they were living in.

The pictures were obtained by The Bolton News, but most were too distressing to print.

Stephen Teasdale, defending, said: "She is a vulnerable person, and she has been criticized and accepts she should have checked what he (Andy) was doing.

"She was living from place to place and she cannot be alone.

She was struggling with alcohol at that stage and an unfortunate side effect is that she would tend to fit, so it was not safe for her to be alone and she was unable to live at the address."

Magistrates adjourned the case for a report from the probation service, and they told Peake that all sentencing options will be considered on November 19.

Last night a neighbor at Aylesford Walk said: "She could barely look after herself because of her alcohol problems. It's a shame because the animals could have been put in a shelter or something. They did not need to die like that."

Mr Bowles added: "No excuse is good enough. Evidence of these animals' suffering over a prolonged period was littered inside the house."

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