Breeder spared jail on 'cat cruelty'
A Telford cat breeder who kept 72 animals in such appalling conditions at her small home that 28 of them had to be put down has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Four dead cats, three of them kittens, were even found in Innez Tyrell's freezer, Telford magistrates heard court heard yesterday.
Tyrell, who bred valuable Persian pedigrees and sold the kittens for up to £350, was banned from keeping cats for life.
The 60-year-old, of Wheatley Crescent, Hadley, admitted 13 charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
The court heard that costs in the case ran to £150,000, with the RSPCA paying out £100,000 in cattery fees for the rescued animals.
Tyrell was ordered to pay £5,000 towards the costs, which she agreed to do at £25 per month, but the hearing was told the rest of the six-figure bill would be footed by the taxpayer and the charity.
Tyrell, who traded under the breeders' title Amzini Persians, was given a four-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.
She was also ordered to do 240 hours unpaid work.
Two of the charges she faced related to geckos found at her home. She was further banned from keeping any reptiles for five years.
Tyrell had claimed in court that cat breeding was just a hobby, but District Judge Bruce Morgan said anyone who spent £4,000 buying cats from Australia as she had done was obviously doing it for a living.
He said no animal should ever again be allowed to live in the odious conditions to which Tyrell subjected the cats and added: "What you did to these animals was cruelty beyond belief."
Mr Paul Taylor, prosecuting, told the court heard that when RSPCA and police officers searched Tyrell's home in September 2008 the property stank so strongly of cat faeces and ammonia that one constable with 20 years' experience in the force almost vomited.
The hall, stairs and landing were covered with cat faeces, smelt of urine and cats were found in filthy pens in two upstairs rooms.
The court heard that the surviving cats had their fur matted with faeces while others were suffering from a variety of diseases. One cat also had deformed hind legs and could not walk properly.
Miss Ann-Marie Gregory, for Tyrell, said being banned from keeping cats would prove devastating to her client.
By Simon Hardy
