A man had avoided jail after hoarding more than 35 pets in his home, causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
The RSPCA attended the home of Alan Packenham, of Lower Hey, Thornton, after he was taken to hospital. At the home, inspectors said they were met with an "overpowering stench of faeces and urine."
At the house of the 39-year-old, the RSPCA found 20 cats and three kittens, four dogs, three ferrets and snakes living in filthy, unhygienic conditions. A vet, who examined the animals, said it would have taken two full-time animal workers with help from volunteers to look after such a large number of animals.
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Due to Packenham's neglect, two kittens died when being treated by vets and officers found four out of five snakes were in a decomposed state. Packenham was sentenced at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on April 14 after pleading guilty to four offences of causing unnecessary suffering to animals and one of failing to take steps to ensure the needs of the animals were met.
When RSPCA inspectors Lisa Lupson, Anthony Joynes and Nadine Pengilly entered the property on August 31, 2021, they discovered two female cats, one severely underweight, in the bathroom, along with three kittens inside an open draw who were infested with fleas and in need of immediate medical attention. A court heard two of three German Shepherd dogs, being kept with a cross breed dog, had also been left muzzled.
There were also three ferrets left in a filthy rabbit hutch in a conservatory and the inspectors found the carcasses of four snakes left to rot in a bedroom. In her witness statement, Inspector Lupson said: "There seemed to be faeces and rubbish on every available surface.
"None of the vivaria were switched on, but I was shocked to see what appeared to be very decomposed snake carcasses inside some of them. Some were very difficult to make out due to their extreme level of decomposition and one black snake appeared to be coiled around a log and to have just died in this position."
Inspector Pengilly said in her statement: "The kittens were crawling with fleas and appeared weak and lethargic. I had to check that they were not dead. There was no litter tray in the bathroom so the cats had been pooing and weeing in the bath.”
Veterinary surgeon Vanessa Whitfield, based at the RSPCA’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital, concluded the three kittens, five of the cats and two of the German Shepherd dogs had all been allowed to suffer by their owner. She said he had also failed to provide for the needs of all the animals by not providing a hygienic environment, a suitable amount of space, food and water, places for the animals to rest and play and to urinate and defecate, as well as failing to provide suitable veterinary care.
In her report, the vet said: "Animal welfare organisations would have a minimum of two full-time members of staff, assisted by volunteers, to care for such a number of animals. This is clearly far too much for any single owner to contend with and it is not surprising the environment and level of animal care and husbandry was so poor."
And she added: "It is likely they [the failings] had been present for a minimum of three months, but more likely this poor level of care will have persisted for many months or even years."
Magistrates sentenced Packenham to a 16-week prison term suspended for 12 months. They also ordered him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £500 court costs and a victim surcharge of £95. He was also banned for life from owning animals.
