A BALLYMENA man has been handed a suspended jail sentence and received a lifetime ban from keeping pets for animal cruelty offences.
Paul Sempey (37) of Queen Street in the Co Antrim town pleaded guilty to causing the unnecessary suffering and failing to ensure the welfare of a Staffordshire bull terrier type dog.
The charges were brought by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council under the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011 and followed an investigation earlier this year.
Animal welfare officers called at Sempey’s property and found his dog was severely emaciated, less than half its expected body weight and in the final hours of its life.
Sempey was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years and ordered to pay legal costs of £116. In addition he was disqualified for life from the keeping of any ‘warm blooded animal’.
A spokesman for the council said the local authority gave a high priority to the welfare of domestic pets and horses, and operated a rigorous enforcement policy.
"Complaints are investigated thoroughly and where necessary formal action is taken, which may include the service of improvement notices or in extreme cases the seizure of animals," he said.
"The council may also prosecute for offences such as in this particularly harrowing case, which I hope serves as a warning to anyone who does not take appropriate care of animals.”
