Man kills seagull for trying to steal his chips
13 March 2019, 11:41 | Updated: 13 March 2019, 11:50
A man has been sentenced for killing a seagull that tried to steal his chips on a day out in Weston-super-Mare.
64-year-old John Llewellyn Jones, who is from Cardiff, attacked the bird after it knocked them out of his hand last summer.
He caught the gull by the leg and threw it into a wall, killing it.
Jones was found guilty of a Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 offence at North Somerset Magistrates court. He had pleaded not guilty.
He was sentenced to a 12-week curfew, which means he is not allowed out between 8pm and 8am. He was also told to pay £750 in costs and a £85 victim surcharge.
The RSPCA say Jones showed "blatant disregard for animal welfare" and "cared more for his chips than what his actions did to the poor gull".
Simon Evans, an Inspector at the charity, said: "This was an unthinkable and despicable way to treat an animal - with this gull smashed against a wall by the man, solely because it knocked chips from his hand. This was deliberate cruelty, borne from the fact that this man cared more for his chips than what his actions did to the poor gull. Simply, the man showed blatant disregard for an animal because he was annoyed about his chips. Witnesses saw the attack - and shocked by-standers, including children, had to look on as the man killed the gull."
