Budgie batterer Brian McGregor killed his teenage son's pet by throwing it repeatedly at a wall, after a drinking binge, a court heard. Rotherham Magistrates were told that the helpless bird suffered multiple injuries at the hands of 53-year-old McGregor ... whose wife worked in the RSPCA's cruelty department
McGregor was seen by an unnamed witness, throwing the budgie several times at the wall – because he felt it needed to be put down, and wanted to end its suffering. The shocked eyewitness called the RSPCA to the house at Coronation Road, Rawmarsh, at 9.25pm on July 24 last year, said prosecutor Karen Tunnacliffe. She said that after the attack – carried out while his 15-year-old son, who cared for the bird, was away on a camping trip – McGregor calmly put the budgie back into its cage.
Ms Tunnacliffe added that McGregor and his wife – who worked in a call centre handling cruelty reports for the RSPCA – were both intoxicated when the society's inspector arrived. The budgie was taken away to be examined by a vet who said the suffering caused to the pet prior to its death would have been "immense".
McGregor was questioned by officers the following day, and explained that he would not have thrown the bird had he been sober. He told the court that the bird had become very ill and added: "It was not feeding and the bird hated human activity, it could not fly and to be honest I thought I was doing it a bit of a favour. A bird breeder told me the best thing would be to throw it at the wall."
He went on: "Just for the record I threw it once against the wall, the breeze blew its feathers so just to make sure I threw it again." McGregor said that his wife was not involved in the attack, but said she had suffered some distress as she had subsequently been sacked from her job.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to the budgie and failing to meet the needs of the same bird. Magistrates adjourned the case until March 20 while court reports are compiled.
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