AN Andover man who kept injured birds and hedgehogs in unsuitable conditions has been jailed for 12 weeks.

Ross Clifford admitted two animal welfare offences following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA after he was found to have also kept the animals without food and water.

RSPCA inspectors were called to an address in Quicksilver Way in Andover on October 14 last year after the charity had been contacted about dead and dying animals found at the address. 

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A vet examined the animals in the 44-year-old's care and found pigeons without their needs being met, including a severely injured pigeon who had been kept in a wicker basket with heavily solid newspaper on the base without food or water or anywhere to perch. 

Another pigeon was housed in a wardrobe in the bedroom, also without food or water. A juvenile wood pigeon was also found in a collapsible crate, with another collapsible crate used as a lid. A towel lined the base of the crate, and this was very heavily soiled with multiple faecal deposits, some fresh and others older and drying. No food or water was found in the crate. 

Hedgehogs were also found in unsuitable conditions, including one found in a plastic cat carrier alongside a small quantity of dried food but no water. The hedgehog was very lethargic and dehydrated with sunken eyes and pale mucous membranes as a result.

Inspector Miranda Albinson, who investigated for the charity, said: “Injured captive wildlife is completely reliant on those providing care to ensure their needs are met. Sadly, in this instance, that responsibility was not fulfilled.”

Two juvenile hedgehogs were found together in a collapsible crate which had wet shredded newspaper and tissue alongside food which appeared to be mouldy. They were both very lethargic and were lying motionless. 

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Another hedgehog, who had to be put to sleep because of the severity of his condition, was found in a plastic hamster cage without food and water with wet bedding which smelled of stale urine with an unsurvivable injury and dehydration.

In mitigation, Clifford said it was well intended by incompetent care. Having set up a wildlife rescue in his home, he was said to have been unable to care for the numbers as he would have wished. He acknowledged that his premises were not set up to deal with wildlife rescue and that he fell short of the standards required by good practice.

During a hearing held at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, March 28 Clifford, who is currently in Winchester HMP for unrelated offences, was sentenced to a 12-week sentence to run concurrent to his existing sentence.