Nora Smith

Mark Carson, 44, this week lost an appeal against his three-month sentence in Coleraine County Appeal Court. He previously admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a cat on 24 March 2020.

The maximum sentence for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal was increased to 12 months on summary conviction and five years on indictment by the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2016.

Nora Smith, chief executive of the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA), said: “It is so disheartening to see this individual get such a short sentence after being convicted of this appalling crime.

“The injuries to this cat were so severe that the vet who treated this poor animal thought it had been struck by a car.

“This was an horrific act of violence against a poor defenceless animal, and we believe that the sentence handed down does not fully reflect the severity and viciousness of this crime.

“The full available sentence for a crime such as this is 12 months and for the brutal killing of an animal in this manner, nothing less than 12 months should have been handed out.

“Sadly, there are people in our society who are intent on inflicting unbearable pain and suffering on defenceless animals. We must invoke tougher sentencing to deter them from carrying out grotesque acts like this.”