Starved dog's suffering and pain due to Nairn man is 'absolutely shocking'
Animal charity Scottish SPCA is pleased a Nairn man has been given a lifetime ban from owning pets after he left a dog to starve to death in a Nairn property.
Brian Farmer (24), of Church Street, Nairn, admitted abandoning one-and-a-half-year-old American Staffordshire bull terrier Duke. He also admitted causing the dog unnecessary suffering by failing to provide it with access to food or water whereby it starved to death.
He has been ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work and will remain under social work supervision for two years.
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Household items had also been chewed as the canine struggled to stay alive in its unheated accommodation between September 23, 2021 and February 4, 2022.
Scottish SPCA chief inspector Iain Allan said it was alerted to the situation after Highland Council cleaners discovered Duke at a property in Church Street, Nairn. He said the council had forced entry because it appeared the property had been abandoned by Farmer and due to the state of it, the local authority called in industrial cleaners.
“On entering, the first thing we noticed was the terrible state of the property, which was filthy with a strong, foul-smelling odour," he said.
“There was a lot of rubbish covering the floor consisting of empty food packets, empty chewed food tins, chewed foam from the sofa and dog faeces. The room was cold as there had been no heating on within the premises for some time.
“We were shocked to see the emaciated body of a large dog in the kitchen/living room area.
“It was obvious from the state of decay of the carcass that the dog had been dead for some time. The dog was lying stretched out on the linoleum floor in front of the chewed up sofa. We were able to identify the dog as Duke.
“Duke’s body was taken for a post-mortem report where the vet determined the cause of death as severe malnutrition.
“We are pleased that Farmer received an indefinite ban from keeping animals. The suffering and pain Duke endured at the hands of Farmer were absolutely shocking.
“If anyone has concerns about an animal, they should call our animal helpline on 03000 999 999.”
