A man who filmed rat torture and neglected puppies is allowed to keep his dogs, sparking outrage.
Animal officers criticized Fair’s sentence. He cannot own animals for one year. He can still keep his four dogs and four ferrets. The 21-year-old got sentenced in Perth.
Fair, from Crieff, filmed the rat abuse. He swung a rat by its tail back in October 2022. Fair shared this disturbing scene on Snapchat, bragging about it.
Fair smashed the rat into his dog’s face. He wanted to make the dog attack. Someone reported the video to the Scottish SPCA. They decided the rat suffered greatly.
People sent the SSPCA Facebook screenshots. Fair admitted feeding his dog live rats to train it for pest control. Officers raided Fair’s home and found five starving puppies walking in filth.
The animal charity expressed outrage that the sentence let him keep his dogs and ferrets. The puppies were weak and wobbly, living in a dirty home. The charity said the puppies were all underweight.
The puppies had big bellies, meaning they had lots of worms. The charity called Fair’s home a “slum.” Two windows were boarded up outside.
Fair admitted to cruelty and neglect in court. He pleaded guilty in Perth Sheriff Court last September. He caused suffering to the puppies, caused an animal fight, and failed to protect his animals from disease.
An inspector felt a warrant was needed. They had viewed the video and made visits before. A vet also had raised concerns. The house had wooden boards on two front windows.
Outside, the garden was muddy and messy. There was an old hutch and a shed. They saw a wet dog kennel with a chain, but no animals were present outside at that moment.
Walking inside, there was a strong urine smell. The flat was like a slum with few items. A black dog, Jax, was loose, along with two other dogs, Jock and a staffie. A pen held five puppies in the sitting room.
The puppies walked in their own diarrhea, with no clean resting spots. They looked weak and moved slowly, appearing very underweight. Their pot bellies showed they had many worms.
Vets said the puppies were small and very underweight for their age. The puppies were unstable due to malnourishment. They had severe diarrhea, causing rapid decline. More delay could have caused death.