A defendant has been jailed for five months and is disqualified from owning animals after deliberately beating and killing his ex-partner’s cat.
Marsden Rawsthorn on behalf of the RSPCA, successfully prosecuted Sajad Hussain, 51, of Ripon Street, Blackburn, who denied the animal cruelty charge.
The court heard how he became enraged with the cat when he objected to it lying on his ex-partner’s bed and took it into the bathroom.
His ex-partner reported hearing banging before the defendant returned saying that he had hit the cat with a mop and that he thought he had killed it.
She tried to take her cat to the vet but Hussain wouldn’t allow it, saying he would get into trouble.
Denial
When interviewed at Greenbank Police Station in Blackburn, Hussain admitted being at his ex-partner’s house but claimed that the mop had always been broken and that he denied hitting the cat with it.
A post mortem revealed that the cat had multiple skull fractures, severe brain haemorrhaging, bruising under the skin on top of the head and under the chin, and more multiple haemorrhages to the tongue and lungs.
Injuries to the ribs indicated an earlier incident had occurred.
Imprisonment for animal cruelty
Hussain was sentenced to five months imprisonment for the animal cruelty charge and was disqualified from owning, keeping, participating in the care of all animals indefinitely.
Our director Paul Ridehalgh said: “This was a despicable act of animal cruelty and we are pleased that we were able to successfully prosecute him on behalf of the RSPCA and more so, that the indefinite disqualification from owning or keeping animals will help prevent further incidents and protect animals from this individual.”
