Man who forced cockerels into ‘horrific and abhorrent’ fights is jailed

A man has been jailed for causing ‘horrific and abhorrent’ abuse to animals by forcing cockerels to fight each other.

William Henry Welch, of Darlington, County Durham, was found by officers from North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce and the RSPCA at premises in Skutterskelf, near Stokesley, on January 13.

The 29-year-old was one of a number men at the site, where officers found 27 live birds, some of whom were still bleeding fresh from cuts to their body and heads.

Bird feathers and both dried and fresh bloodstains were also discovered on the floor of a stable block.

Welch’s phone was apprehended as part of the enquiry and revealed evidence that he was present at numerous other cockfights on December 19 last year and January 4 2018.

Investigators described the graphic video footage on his phone as ‘sickening’.

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Welch pleaded guilty to charges of causing an animal fight to take place, keeping animals for fighting, and being present at an animal fight on three occasions from December 2017 to January 2018.

He was jailed at Harrogate Magistrate Court on November 26 for 20 weeks and disqualified from keeping all animals for 20 years.

The defendant was also ordered to pay a total of £2,000 costs.

During sentencing, magistrates told Welch: ‘You put your own recreational needs before the welfare of your animals, in the most horrific and abhorrent circumstances.’

A second man, 53, was also sentenced after pleading guilty to being present at an animal fight.

William Chates, of Darlington, County Durham, was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from keeping all animals for 10 years.

He was also told to pay £170 in costs.

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Two other defendants from the enquiry had stood trial but were both found not guilty.

‘This is one of the worst examples of animal cruelty I have seen in over 15 years of police service, so much so that I took the decision not to have the investigating officers view the video footage recovered from Welch’s mobile phone, due to its extreme graphic nature and scenes of catastrophic suffering to the animals involved,’ Sergeant Kevin Kelly, of North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce, said.

‘I would like to acknowledge the anonymous caller who made the decision contact us, knowing that North Yorkshire Police would take the matter seriously. I hope news of this sentence finds its way back to them, and serves as an example of how seriously we take this type of crime.

‘The jail sentence should be seen as a stark warning to animal abusers up and down the country that the police and the RSPCA, given the chance, will come for you.’

The RSPCA’s National Wildlife Crime Coordinator called Welch’s crimes ‘animal cruelty of the highest level’.

‘This was serious and horrific animal cruelty at the highest level,’ Inspector Geoff Edmon said.

‘Not only was this an organised and planned cockfight, it was watched and recorded on video.

‘To have to view these sickening videos is very distressing, and our thanks go to North Yorkshire Police for their significant effort and determination to place this matter before the court.’