A man has been slapped with a two-year ban on owning or keeping animals after eight guinea pigs were found having been abandoned for days.
Robert Stewart Dyer Sheppard, who previously lived in Drumchapel, admitted failing to provide food and water for the animals as seven of them were found dead.
The deceased pets were discovered by the Scottish SPCA at the 45-year-old's home in April last year. A surviving female, named Ollie, was emaciated.
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Sheppard pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering by failing to provide adequate food and water for eight guinea pigs at Glasgow Sheriff Court on February 1 2023.
He was sentenced to a two-year ban on owning or keeping animals and a 75-day Restriction of Liberty Order, on March 29.
The court heard that SSPCA officers were alerted to reports of concern for the animals on April 18 last year.
They contacted the local council to gain access to the property and were told that Sheppard had moved out on April 8.
When a council employee attended his house to change the locks, they discovered a number of dead guinea pigs on the veranda area. Welfare officers later attended where they found the bodies of six guinea pigs surrounded by a large amount of animal faeces.
There were two empty bowls and an empty cake tin on the floor and no food or water was present.
Two other guinea pigs were trapped inside a cage on top of a hutch and had no way of getting out. One of them had died.
Survivor Ollie was rescued and put inside a clean pet carrier before being taken to a rescue centre for veterinary treatment. She was found to be underweight but was bright and alert.
With care from the SSPCA, she managed to regain weight and has found a new home.
Scottish SPCA chief inspector Jennifer Connolly said: “We sought a veterinary opinion on how the other seven Guinea pigs died and it is estimated they succumbed to dehydration. It’s estimated it would take somewhere between three and five days for a Guinea pig to die of dehydration or over a week to die of starvation assuming water was available.
“Given the timescales of when Sheppard vacated the property we assume there must have been a supply of food and water left initially. However, these resources would not have been evenly shared between the animals and the weaker animals would have passed away more quickly.
“We are pleased that Sheppard received a ban but, given the level of neglect these animals were subjected to, we would have liked for it to have been for a longer period of time.
“Any reasonable owner would not leave their animals unsupervised like this for such an extended period of time and would ensure that someone trustworthy and reliable was responsible for tending to them.
“If anyone is concerned about an animal, they can contact our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.”
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