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We all like to give our pets treats, thinking that what we’re doing is harmless. But when does this become a criminal act?
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The answer is yes - a landmark court case revealed yesterday - when your dog is a chocolate Labrador who has been fed an inappropriate diet resulting in it weighing in at over 11 stones.
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Derek Benton, 62, and his 53-year-old brother, David, received a three-year conditional discharge and were ordered to pay £250 costs after magistrates in Ely, Cambridgeshire, found the two brothers who allowed their pet chocolate Labrador to become "hugely and grossly" overweight, guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
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The court heard that on Feb 8 2006, Mr Finch an RSPCA inspector, found Rusty was so overweight that he could only walk 4 or five steps before buckling under his own weight. He strongly advised the brothers take him to a vet so his health could be monitored. But when he returned on March 15 he was told they had not done so as they did not think it necessary. The pet was eventually taken away by the RSPCA and put on a low calorie diet. Since being removed from the brothers in March, Rusty had lost around three-and-a- half stone.
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Barrister Ann-Marie Gregory told the court that Rusty was so overweight because he had arthritis and could not easily exercise. She went on to say that convicting them would set a worrying precedent and she had received calls from people up and down the country who were worried to death that their cat or rabbit is a couple of pounds overweight and that they too might be hauled before the courts because of this.
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Mark Thompson, an RSPCA chief inspector, insisted that the charity had been right to bring the prosecution. “I am disappointed that the magistrates did not grant a seizure order. If the Benton brothers do not look after him properly they will be brought back to court.”
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After the case, the British Veterinary Association said that 30 to 40 per cent of pets were overweight but that owners should not fear prosecution if they followed vets’ advice.
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Ensure your pet is fit and healthy – because a happy pet means a happy you. Find vets and healthy treats in your My Pet Friends pet business directory.
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