Vet tells animal cruelty trial of suffering at sanctuary

Jacqueline Paterson told how quails struggled to forage for food because they had clumps of faeces stuck to their feet; how a tortoise was living in conditions so humid it developed an infection on its beak and how a skunk was so stressed it continuously paced up and down.

Ms Paterson, a veterinary surgeon, gave evidence at Teesside Magistrates' Court yesterday in the trial of sanctuary owner Clifford Spedding.

Mr Spedding, 46, who runs the Hope Animal Sanctuary at his home in Whitecliff Cottages, Loftus Bank, Loftus, east Cleveland, faces 17 charges of animal cruelty.

He denies 13 cruelty charges, but pleaded guilty on Monday to four charges relating to the unnecessary suffering of six ducks, 21 doves, four quails, a pigeon, two parakeets and five finches.

Ms Paterson said that in one enclosure, an iguana and tortoise were caged together, with a covering of "bacterial broth" on the floor.

She said: "A tortoise and an iguana come from two entirely different continents. Although they are both reptiles, it is a bit like saying a cow and a mouse are mammals. They are not the same species and have different requirements."

The court also heard that a terrier dog was discovered confined in a dilapidated structure with its bedding inches deep in dog excrement, some of which was months old.

The shelter was raided by the RSPCA and police on March 15 last year, when a number of animals were seized.

In a police interview after the raid, which was read to the court, Mr Spedding said: "I have just been having a bad time and just never got round to doing a lot of things round there. Everything just got on top of me."

But Duncan McCreddie, in defence, said that at no point in the interview was Mr Spedding asked if he thought the animals were suffering.

Questioning RSPCA inspector Mark Gent, Mr McCreddie said: "Here we have serious offences and you did not ask about the central elements of these offences."

The trial continues.