A teenager has been banned from owning animals for 15 years after stabbing his family's pet bird in a barbaric attack.
Aaron Ray, 18, left the cockatiel with fatal injuries after plunging a knife into the back of its neck during a fit of rage earlier this year.
Police have now condemned Ray's “cruel” actions after pursuing a criminal prosecution against the teenager.
Officers found the dead animal after being called to an addresss in South Hylton, Sunderland on the evening of January 11 following a report of a disturbance.
When quizzed by officers, Ray told them “it’s just a bird, it’s not a crime”.
Now Ray, of Mayfield Road, Sunderland, has been convicted at court after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to an animal when he appeared before magistrates in South Tyneside on June 11.
He returned to the same court on Friday where he received a 12-week prison sentence suspended for one year. Ray was also handed a 15-year ban from owning animals.
PC Peter Baker, who works as a wildlife officer at Northumbria Police, says Ray’s conviction should act as a reminder that animal cruelty is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated.
“Aaron Ray showed a total disregard for the welfare of this bird and inflicted catastrophic injuries that it could not survive from,” PC Baker.
“This kind of behaviour is not only reckless and upsetting, but a criminal offence – and that’s the lesson that Ray now must learn.
“We are a nation of animal lovers, so it is upsetting to come across incidents such as this where the defendant has caused inevitable and unnecessary suffering to an animal.
“I hope this conviction acts as a serious lesson to others – anybody who causes unnecessary suffering to an animal could face criminal action and a possible jail term.”
Anyone who witnesses cruelty or an animal in distress should contact the RSPCA direct or call 101.
