Liam Fair, from Crieff, pled guilty to goading a lurcher dog to bite, attack and kill a domestic rat. He caused the rat unnecessary suffering by suspending it from its tail, swinging it round and striking it off the dog’s face.
He also admitted to failing to meet the needs of five puppies, three dogs and a kitten at his home in Crieff, in October 2022.
Fair was sentenced at Perth Sheriff Court on Wednesday, 12 February. He was disqualified from owning or keeping any domesticated, farm or wild animals of any kind, other than four dogs and four ferrets, for 12 months. He was also given a deprivation order for an adult dog called Honey, five puppies and one kitten.
A Scottish SPCA Inspector reported, “We received footage from a complainer showing a male, identified as Liam Fair, goading his lurcher type dog Jax to attack a domesticated brown rat.
“Fair can be seen holding the rat by the tail while hitting it off the dog’s face.
“Veterinary opinion was that severe psychological and physical suffering was caused to the rat during the incident.
“We also received screen shots taken from social media page Facebook, where on a public page, Fair admitted feeding his dog live rats as a method of training his dog for pest control purposes.
“Pictures showed a black brindle lurcher type dog named ‘Jax’ attacking the rat in the video.
“Due to the severity of the concerns within the footage, multiple previous visits, and a vet statement raising specific concerns, it was deemed necessary at this point to gain a warrant.
“We attended the property which had wooden boards covering two windows at the front of the house. The garden immediately outside the premises was in a poor state, with mud and debris through-out. There was an old hutch, a dilapidated garden shed and what appears to be a wet wooden dog kennel with a chain attached and saturated bedding inside. No animals were seen here at the time.
“When walking into the flat there was a strong smell of urine. The flat can only be described as a slum with minimal personal possessions. Jax, a black lurcher type was loose within the premises along with Jock, a white lurcher type and a tan coloured staffie type dog.
“Within the sitting room there was a large puppy pen set up holding five young puppies. The puppies were walking around in their own diarrhoea with no clean or dry resting areas visible. We noted the puppies appeared to be walking lethargically, it was evident immediately that they were exceptionally underweight with pot bellies indicative of a large worm burden.
“Veterinary reports showed the five puppies were very small and significantly underweight for their age. The puppies were all weak and wobbly on their legs due to being severely under nourished.
“They were also suffering from severe diahorrea which can result in tiny puppies losing body condition very quickly. If this had continued much longer it would have resulted in dehydration and collapse, possibly death.
“We are devastated by the sentence Fair received. The sentence means he has been allowed to keep the eight animals currently in his care. “
