Man jailed after cock-fight at traveller site caught on CCTV » Housing » 24dash.com

An RSPCA inspector praised shopping centre security guards for spotting a cock-fight on CCTV after a man was jailed today for his role in forcing the birds to duel.

The 90-minute barbaric contest was captured on security cameras at a Bristol shopping mall as well as recording one of the birds being shot three times before having its neck wrung.

Today George Loveridge, 38, was jailed for 18 weeks and banned from keeping animals for two years for staging the fight at a travellers' site next to the centre in Highwood Lane, Patchway, on October 4 last year.

Michael Purcell, 26, was handed a 12-week suspended sentence and Benjamin Jones, 27, was given an eight-week suspended sentence.

Purcell was found guilty of two charges under the Animal Welfare Act on September 10, while Loveridge and Jones admitted their roles at earlier hearings.

The Old English Game-type birds, one black and one brown, were specifically bred for strength and aggression and sparred with each other for one-and-a-half hours.

Armed police swooped on the group after Loveridge was seen at the end of the fight shooting one of the birds three times, but it did not die.

Purcell told police that he had humanely attempted to wring the shot bird's neck before throwing it over a hedge.

Purcell, whose two children live at the travellers' site and was holding a small child in his arms at the time, said the fight was in full flow when he joined the group.

He said he was unhappy about his children having to see it but that he did not feel he was able to stop it.

During Purcell's trial the footage captured by security at Cribbs Causeway Mall was played to the court and showed the trio on nearby grassland watching the bloody battle.

Surveillance officers had been scanning the car parks when they noticed the incident.

Outside North Avon Magistrates' Court today, RSPCA Inspector for Bristol Chris James said it was usually very difficult to prosecute for cock-fighting and the last case was three years ago in Sussex.

"Cock-fighting is an underground activity and it is very difficult to get the evidence to bring a prosecution which is why the CCTV footage is priceless.

"The staff cannot be praised highly enough for their initiative.

"The penalties that have been given reflect the seriousness of these offences.

"The birds were repeatedly put together even when they broke from each other because they had had enough.

"It is deliberate cruelty and has been illegal for 150 years.

"To shoot an animal, not kill it and leave it to someone else to put it out of its misery is unacceptable."

Loveridge, of Mancroft Avenue, Lawrence Weston, Bristol, was also ordered to pay £2,000 costs. Purcell, of Beaufort Crescent, Mannswood, Usk, in Gwent, was ordered to pay £4,000 costs and do 250 hours of community service.

Jones, who lives at the Highwood Lane site, was also banned from keeping animals for two years and was given an 7pm to 7am curfew for 20 weeks.

Purcell and Loveridge told the court they were remorseful about their part in the cock-fight and that the case had brought embarrassment on their families while Jones said he understood his wrongdoing.