Footage on phone showing cockerels put together to fight incriminates Beverley man
A man has admitted offences related to cockfighting after footage from his phone showed cockerels being put together to fight and spar.
Oliver Thomas Bates, 27, of Church Drive, Leven, pleaded guilty to five offences which also included animal mutilation, illegal trapping and offences concerning a hare, deer and an Irish pyle cock bird.
He was given a 12-week prison sentence at Hull and Holderness Court, on Tuesday, suspended for a period of 18 months, and was banned from keeping all animals for 15 years.
The court heard that RSPCA officers, police and an expert from World Horse Welfare, visited a smallholding in Tickton in October 2024 to carry out welfare checks in response to concerns about animals at the premises.
In a statement, an officer from the RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit, said: “A number of birds were underweight and the environment was unsuitable. The police officer seized the birds due to concerns raised and they were removed and taken to a vet for examination and opinion.”
Bates was not present, so warning notices about the condition of the birds were issued to a family member. A mobile phone belonging to Bates, formerly of Robinson Gardens, Cottingham, Hull, was later confiscated by the police for forensic examination.
Footage recovered from the phone showed cockerels being placed together to fight and spar, along with material relating to a practice known as “dubbing”, in which a cock’s comb, wattles, or earlobes is cut off to prepare a bird for fighting.
The court also heard evidence of videos, recorded by Bates, showing animals caught in illegal snares, including a roe deer and a brown hare.
RSPCA Wildlife Partnerships Manager Geoff Edmond said one of the videos showed a female roe deer which had been killed after being caught in a wire-type snare around the rear of the head and neck area. The snare appeared to have been secured around a tree branch above a barbed wire line of fence.
He said: “[Another video] depicts a situation where a brown hare has been caught in a wire snare and subsequently is found dead. Snares can legally be used to catch this species but must be inspected regularly and no animal should be found dead in a snare.
“When used incorrectly snares are capable of causing injuries and suffering to animals and to snare non-targeted species is entirely inappropriate and, in the case of deer, illegal.”
Mitigating, Bates’ defence said he had experienced physical and mental health difficulties and argued that a suspended sentence was appropriate. The court heard he had pleaded guilty at an early stage and had no previous convictions.
Bates was also ordered to carry out 15 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and an Alcohol Treatment Requirement for six months. He was ordered to pay £400 in costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
An RSPCA spokesperson said: “It was rightly highlighted in court that animals are sentient beings, and it is widely acknowledged that they can feel emotion, pain and distress. Abuse and cruelty to animals will not be tolerated.”