Charlene McCafferty McDowall, 22 and Lawrence Skrzydlo, 31, jailed after TWENTY TWO animals found dead in tiny one-bedroom apartment

UNITED KINGDOM -- A couple have been jailed after RSPCA inspectors found 22 dead animals crammed into a tiny one bedroom flat.

Charlene McCafferty McDowall, 22 and Lawrence Skrzydlo, 31, had 50 animals in their home.

A court heard they included a kitten, a gerbil, bearded dragons and hamsters.

They were all kept in filthy conditions with no food or water.

Now the couple have been locked-up and banned from keeping animals for life after admitting a string of cruelty charges .

After the case, RSPCA inspector Jo Taylor said: “It was a horrendous scene, 50 animals crammed into a small flat, almost half of which were dead.

“The animals’ needs were not being met as a result of them having no food or water and living in their own filth.

“There were cages, carriers, hutches and makeshift vivariums stacked on top of each other. All were filthy. There was no food or water.

“We got there just in time for vets to save a collapsed kitten who was suffering from dehydration and hypothermia. It was a miracle. None of us expected the poor little thing to make it, but she was a fighter.

“One of the bearded dragons was emaciated and suffering, whilst the other surviving animals’ needs were not being met as a result of them having no food or water and living in their own filth.”

The inspector added: “Keeping this number of animals in a one-bedroom flat was never going to be a good idea, there was nowhere near enough space for them all.

“Not only were they living in inappropriate conditions though, they were living in filth, and had no access to food or water.

“Many animals had died and those that survived were lucky we were called and went along when we did, or it’s likely they too would have suffered a similar fate.”

Two of the bearded dragons had to be put to sleep on veterinary advice, but the other animals were signed over to the RSPCA for rehoming.

The RSPCA were called to the couple’s flat in Goldthorpe, near Barnsley, south Yorks, after a tip-off in January this year.

McDowall was jailed for eight weeks and Skrzydl for 10 weeks after both pleaded guilty to seven counts of animal cruelty at Barnsely magistrates’ court .

(Mirror UK - Dec 22, 2015)