Warning animal cruelty: Eccles breeder kept bodies of decomposing dogs in his home
WARNING: This article contains images of animal cruelty.
A dog breeder from Greater Manchester who was found with the bodies of decaying dogs, cats and rabbits in his home has been given a 10 year ban on keeping all animals.
Mark Blackburn, 35 from Eccles, pleaded guilty to four animal welfare offences when he appeared before Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 14 September.
The court heard how the RSPCA were called to Blackburn's house by the police on December 8, 2019 and found 17 dead animals in the house - and five underweight Akita dogs.
Inspector Danni Jennnings attended the scene and said when she arrived at the address the front door was already open she said: “Before I entered the property I noted an obvious smell consistent with dead bodies”.
During a search of the property she then discovered the bodies of decomposing animals in various rooms.
She said: “In the living room directly off the hallway on the right, there was a dead, black adult rabbit in a wooden box. This box contained no food or water.
She added:
In the kitchen she found a kennel containing a decomposed Akita and in another cardboard box was another dead rabbit.
During a search of the hallway Danni came across two cardboard boxes with the lids shut and when she opened these she found two dead rabbits with no food and water present.
Upstairs the decomposed body of another Akita was found in a crate in the main bedroom and in another bedroom the bodies of four dead and decomposing cats were found.
Five live Akitas were found in the property and were taken for veterinary treatment. All were underweight and three needed drips inserted as they were dehydrated.
Four of the live Akitas were owned by other breeders and have been returned to their owners and made a recovery. One was owned by Blackburn and was signed over into RSPCA care for rehoming.
An expert vet said that the decomposition of the animals suggested they all died at various times from dehydration as no drinking water was present at the house. In mitigation the court heard Blackburn was suffering from depression and anxiety.
As well as the 10 year ban on keeping animals Blackburn was also given four months custody suspended for 6 months for each offence to run concurrently.
He was also handed a 12 month community order including a Rehabilitation and Activity Requirement for 15 days and ordered to pay £900 costs.