A Leamington Spa man has been convicted of brutally kicking a cat.
Terry Bree, 71, of Brunswick Street, Leamington, admitted an offence of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal when he appeared at Warwickshire Magistrates' Court on Friday, 10th November 2023.
Causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal is an offence under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2004. The maximum penalty is 5 years' custody and/or an unlimited fine on conviction on indictment; 12 months' custody and/or an unlimited fine on summary conviction.
Ring doorbell footage captured the moment the retired father-of-five lashed out at Lenny the cat as he was walking his dog in Hastang Fields, Leamington, shortly before 7 am on Saturday, 16th September 2023.
The distressing video showed Bree calling his German Shepherd dog Sasha and putting her on a lead. Bree then walked towards Lenny and can be seen pulling his right foot to the rear before following through with a forceful kick at the 21-year-old feline's body.
Lenny's body was seen to arch in distress and travelled several feet through the air. Bree could be heard groaning as he followed through with the kick.
Lenny sadly died a few weeks after the incident, his demise quite possibly hastened by the traumatic experience.
There was widespread public outcry and condemnation when the video footage was published by the media in mid-October.
Nabiha Ahmed, prosecuting, told Magistrates: "He viciously kicked the cat, who was 21 at the time, into the road."
A victim impact statement by Lenny's owner said: "Since this happened I have not been sleeping properly. I wake up during the night expecting to hear him but then remember he has passed away.
"I had Lenny since he was a kitten. I feel sickened and shocked that someone could do this to him. I strongly believe the shock caused his death."
Jas Thiara, mitigating, told the court that Bree had encountered "issues with cats" during previous walks with Sasha. In particular, he claimed a cat had previously scratched Sasha's nose.
She said that Bree recognised "the public outcry" caused by his actions and had been a dog owner for 35 years.
Ms Thiara said: "He just saw red and he reacted and he deeply, deeply regrets his actions. He reported himself to the RSPCA. Unfortunately in this case the cat has passed, but there is no medical evidence that the kick caused the death of the animal."
Magistrates were of the opinion that Bree's offence was serious enough to merit a community order.
They sentenced him to a 12-month community order with the requirement that he completes 300 hours of unpaid work.
Bree was also ordered to pay £200 compensation, £185 towards prosecution costs and £114 surcharge.
An order was made disqualifying him from owning or keeping a cat for a period of 5 years.
I find this offence absolutely sickening. It is pretty clear to me that Bree only came forward, more than a month after the attack, because he'd seen the crystal clear video footage and knew it would only be a matter of time before the police came knocking.
He was quite happy to walk away and leave Lenny with potentially fatal injuries at the time of the attack.
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