A dog owner who drowned a litter of puppies has been cleared of animal cruelty because experts were unable to prove that they suffered more than if they had been put down by a vet.
John Wooligan, 47, of Whitehaven, Cumbria, decided to kill the seven 10-day-old Staffordshire Bull terriers because their yapping "got on his nerves".
He dropped the puppies into a water-filled plastic box, then placed a second box on top to prevent them escaping.
They were yapping all day long," he said. "They were really getting on my nerves and their mother was rejecting them. I did not know whether I could look after seven puppies.
"I panicked. My head went funny and I just drowned them. I couldn't help myself. I thought it was wrong after I did it."
Keith Thomas, prosecuting, said the act of drowning the puppies had caused them unnecessary suffering.
But David Roberts, defending, claimed there was no evidence that such young puppies could experience pain. His view was supported by Steven Lomax, a vet with 28 years' experience, who told the court: "I have heard no evidence to hear that the drowning of a puppy is inhumane."
Is it cruel to drown puppies?
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