Walkers discovered the dog still alive with a nail sticking out from between his eyes.

Four-month jail sentence handed down in shocking cruelty case
 
Two men who hammered a nail into a dog’s head and buried it alive have been sentenced to just four months in prison, the RSPCA has revealed, prompting fresh calls for tougher sentences for animal cruelty offences.

Walkers in North Yorkshire discovered the dog last October when they heard whimpering coming from a mound of earth. Finding the dog still alive, with a nail sticking out from between his eyes, they called the police and rushed him to a nearby veterinary practice, where he had to be euthanised to end his suffering.

The vet described it as the worst case of animal cruelty ever seen.

Richard Finch, 60, and Michael Heathcock, 59, from Redcar, were sentenced at Teesside Magistrates’ Court yesterday (1 March), the RSPCA reported. Sentencing them to four months in jail, the chair of the bench described the acts as “barbaric and premeditated”, according to the charity.

The maximum sentence for offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 is currently six months in jail and an unlimited fine, but in this case the RSPCA said magistrates had to take into account the defendants’ early guilty pleas.

David Bowles, head of external affairs at the charity, said the magistrate gave the longest sentence they could, but “it’s possible they will only end up serving eight weeks”.

The RSPCA is renewing its calls for tougher sentencing for animal welfare offences. Mr Bowles added: “Scamp’s ordeal was horrific and heartbreaking and the sentence handed out to his killers will upset and anger animal lovers. This terrible case is the perfect illustration as to why we need to give magistrates and judges powers to give tougher sentences for the most appalling cases of cruelty and neglect.”

Last month the government announced it would not be extending the maximum jail sentences for animal welfare offences, after a report by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee called for the penalty to be increased to five years in prison. Responding, the government said current sentencing practice ‘does not suggest that the courts are finding current sentencing powers inadequate’. But it added that the Sentencing Council had revised the magistrates’ court sentencing guidelines.

Image courtesy of the RSPCA