Man jailed after filming dogs attacking caged fox in garden
A man who filmed two dogs attacking a caged fox in his back garden has been jailed for 22 weeks.
John Gough from Brierley Hill was also banned from keeping animals for life after the 'horrific' footage was discovered on his phone.
The 26-year-old pleaded guilty to three animal welfare charges at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court after being brought in by the police and the RSPCA.
The court heard last week how Gough used his mobile phone to video two dogs attacking a fox which had been trapped in a cage. He could be heard encouraging the dogs in the footage.
In another video clip the distressed animal is out of the cage and the dogs are seen to carry on the attack.
Both incidents are said to have taken place at his home address in Byron Street on or about May 16. It is not known what happened to the fox.
Officers searched Gough's home and seized his mobile phone, finding the video showing the fox attack along with still images.
A fox trap was also found along with equipment used when putting terriers down holes in the ground. In his vehicle officers discovered two fox tails, a terrier box and shovels.
Gough pleaded guilty to causing an animal fight between a dog and a fox, causing unnecessary suffering to a captive fox, and causing unnecessary suffering to a black terrier type dog.
He denied a further charge of wilfully killing, injuring or taking a badger back in February 2017, which was later dropped.
An officer from the RSPCA's Special Operations Unit, who investigated the case, said: “We do not know what happened to the fox in this horrific attack and the two dogs in the video were not found at the property.
“But an expert who watched the video taken from the phone was able to state that the fox would have suffered due to the bite injuries as well as one of the dogs which was also bleeding during the horrific attack.
“This was premeditated animal cruelty and both the fox and dog clearly suffered at the hands of Gough.”
