Vet thought cats had been hit by car after man punched them to death
A man who killed his girlfriend’s two pet cats when in a rage caused injuries so bad a vet thought they had been hit by a vehicle.
Jamie Bowen, 29, of Newtown, realised what he had done after punching the heads of Nala and Fuego, and took them to a vet.
But one was already dead and the other had to be put down.
Defence barrister Owen Edwards told Mold Crown Court there had been “an extensive loss of control” by someone who had mental health problems. Bowen was conscious of the shame that followed his conviction after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the animals, he said.
David Mainstone, prosecuting, said the vet had become suspicious and at first thought the cats might have been hit by a vehicle.
Judge Rhys Rowlands said: “It’s bizarre behaviour.”
The cats had been subjected to repeated blows, he said and “considerable pain would be inflicted upon them before you came to your senses”.
He added: “What’s quite clear to this court, and courts up and down the land, is that smoking of cannabis does not assist mental health problems, it makes them worse.”
The judge said: “Quite why you behaved as you did only you will know. But it is beyond all right-thinking people who view cruelty upon animals as abhorrent.”
Bowen was given an eight-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and banned from keeping animals for 10 years. He must adhere to a community mental health requirement, with 20 days of rehabilitation activity. Costs of £656 were imposed.
