A man has been handed a ban from keeping pets after CCTV footage showed him beating his own cat cat. Artur Zakowicz reached out to the tiny black and white creature close to his home and then grabbed him and shook him.
The incident, which took place on Charles Street in Chester, was the basis of a prosecution brought against the 46-year-old man by the RSPCA. The clip, from March 24, is distressing.
Zakowicz is seen grabbing the cat, called Bashik, by his skin and slapping him violently six times with his hand while pushing him to the ground. He then picked him up roughly by the skin on his back before the pet managed to escape, reports CheshireLive.
Zakowicz, of Brook Street, Chester, was tracked down following the nighttime incident, with the RSPCA and Cheshire Police going to his home on April 16. When Bashik was examined later that day at RSPCA Greater Manchester Animal Hospital there were no apparent injuries from the attack, but a vet said any soft tissue damage may have healed in the time that had elapsed between the incident and the medical.
Zakowicz pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a cat under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and appeared for sentencing at Chester Magistrates’ Court on October 14. In addition to the ban, Zakowicz was also given a 12-month community sentence, under which he must complete 15 rehabilitation activity days and 200 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £114 and costs of £500. In a written statement presented to the court, RSPCA inspector Naomi Morris said she was shown CCTV footage of the attack at Blacon Police Station and she went with a police officer to the defendant’s flat.
There he admitted carrying out the attack and gave the RSPCA permission to take the animal for a vet check.
The vet’s report stated: “Persisting signs of bruising and soft tissue swelling would not be expected when considering the examination was carried out 23 days after the CCTV incident. No skeletal injuries were detectable radiographically."
But after viewing the attack, the vet concluded that Bashik would have been "in pain for a period of several hours, possibly longer". Bashik is now in the care of the RSPCA and the animal charity is looking to find him a new home.
