Man jailed for starving animals

A man jailed for allowing animals to starve to death has been given another six-month prison sentence.
Lee Howard, 41, was jailed last year for leaving horses, dogs, hens and a rabbit to die at Bank Top Stables in Trimdon, County Durham.

At Middlesbrough Magistrates' Court he admitted breaching an order banning him from keeping animals for life.

Magistrates heard RSPCA inspectors found dogs and birds at a house in Middlesbrough months after his release.

Howard, of Shinwell Crescent, South Bank, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to dozens of animals at the run-down stables in March 2006.

Breach reported

RSPCA inspectors found 13 horses and ponies, 11 hens, four dogs and a rabbit had died of dehydration and starvation. Three dogs survived.

But despite the jail term and ban Howard acquired 11 dogs and 16 birds on release from prison, the court heard.

The breach was discovered after a concerned member of the public reported the animals being kept at a property in Delarden Road, Middlesbrough, in January this year.

RSPCA Inspector Garry Palmer, speaking after the case, said: "That he has managed to acquire so many animals in such a short time is shocking, and poses questions about where he's got them from, and what kind of checks should be made."