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)

Gerbil starvation leads to animal neglect conviction, probation for Milwaukie woman

OREGON -- A Milwaukie woman who abandoned her pet gerbils and left them to die was convicted Friday of first-degree animal neglect and sentenced to five years probation.

Tara Rachel Davidson, 34, also was required by Clackamas County Circuit Judge Thomas J. Rastetter to perform 80 hours of community service . 

Davidson was evicted from her apartment and left two female Mongolian gerbils in the unit. She claimed she arranged for someone to care for her pets. An investigation revealed that the animals starved to death.

(The Oregonian - Oct 12, 2012)

Florida: Tampa Teacher Charged With Cruelty in Starving Gerbil Cannibal Case

FLORIDA -- She says it was a misunderstanding. 

Tampa teacher Margaret Barthel claims that when she left for summer vacation, she left instructions with another employee to feed and water the pet gerbils in her classroom. 

But the employ apparently forgot, or Barthel is lying to cover her own forgetfulness. Who knows?

Either way, the gerbils were left for weeks over the summer without food water. They became so starved they went cannibal on each other. 

According to a police report filed by Officer Stephen Hiles, several Freedom High teachers said Barthel had a history of neglecting animals, including several finches that allegedly died in their cages, a ball python that died after being deprived of heat and frogs dissected alive by her students.

The conditions in the gerbil cages were deplorable, according to investigators, who were told of overcrowded cages, inadequate food and unchecked breeding practices.


"The gerbils were breeding so rapidly that they were eating their young and being born deformed," police Officer Stephen Hiles wrote in his report. "We were not able to determine the exact number of animals because they had cannibalized each other."

Now Barthel, head of the science department at Freedom High, has been charged with five counts of animal cruelty.

UPDATE TO STORY:

In Barthel's classroom at Freedom High, several class “pets” were abused and neglected: Nine gerbils died after they were deprived of food and water for more than two weeks, finches died of exposure, and a ball python froze to death.

As a result of the cruelty citations, Barthel has relinquished her (still-living) ball python to Hillsborough County Animal Services, paid a $1,000 fine, donated $500 to animal services, and committed to keeping animals out of her classroom permanently.

(True Crime Report - Sept 23, 2009)