A woman injured a cockerel and left it with brain damage because its loud crowing woke her up at 3am. Caroline Smith, 52, left Eddy the black araucana cross unconscious after he was crowing in the middle of the night.
Greater Manchester Magistrates' Court heard how Smith was woken up at 3am by the loud crowing of Eddy in September 2022. Smith believed that her neighbour had previously agreed to kill the bird, but had killed the wrong one - so she decided to take matters into her own hands
Another neighbour then saw Smith, of Preston, Lancashire, trying to strangle Eddy and hit him with a boat fender - which left him unconscious. The neighbour rushed Eddy to an emergency vet, who found blood around the bird’s nostrils.
He also said the cockerel was displaying clinical signs that were consistent with having sustained a brain injury, either via head trauma or via oxygen deprivation. The vet also said it was not possible to determine if permanent brain damage had occurred or whether Eddy had been left with a disability.
He said that Eddy would survive the injuries, but would need close monitoring once he was back at his home in Preston. Smith was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to Eddy on June 15 and was banned from keeping birds for four years. She was ordered to pay costs of £1,296 and a victim surcharge of £114.
RSPCA Inspector Taylor said: "There is never an excuse for deliberately harming and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal like this. Smith said that she worked nights and had been disturbed by noise made by Eddy’s owners - especially from their cockerel over the past couple of months. But other solutions could and should have been explored, rather than resorting to treating an animal like this."
