Court bans mayor from keeping animals

A mayor in Kent has been banned from keeping animals for 18 months after admitting failing to get veterinary treatment for his dying kitten, the RSPCA has said.

Edwin Watt-Ruffell also admitted failing to provide flea treatment for the five-week-old pet which ended up dying in August last year.

Watt-Ruffell, the Conservative mayor of Margate in Kent, was given a 12-month community order, ordered to carry out 80 hours' unpaid work and told to pay £2,000 in costs by Sittingbourne magistrates.

The RSPCA said that the kitten collapsed at his house in Kingston Avenue, Margate, when he was out of the house while builders were at his property.

A spokesman said that Watt-Ruffell was called by the workmen, but an altercation broke out between them when he returned and then left with the kitten.

The RSPCA were called and after inspectors arrived and asked Watt-Ruffell to return home with the animal, it died minutes later.

It was claimed that Watt-Ruffell, who pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering, did not know that the kitten - which suffered from anaemia caused by a flea allergy - was sick.

Following the case, RSPCA inspector Miranda Albinson said: "This kitten was dying and should have been taken straight to a vet. There is no excuse for this kind of neglect. This kitten could easily have been saved had vet treatment been sought."

A spokeswoman for Thanet District Council said it was aware of the court proceedings.

She said: "We have not been formally notified of the outcome, but understand that the mayor of Margate, councillor Ted Watt-Ruffell, is intending to step aside as mayor, and that councillor Michael Tomlinson, the deputy mayor, will take over his duties once a formal announcement has been made."