Court bans mayor from keeping animals

A mayor in Kent has been banned from keeping animals for 18 months after admitting failing to get veterinary treatment for his dying kitten, the RSPCA has said.

Edwin Watt-Ruffell also admitted failing to provide flea treatment for the five-week-old pet which ended up dying in August last year.

Watt-Ruffell, the Conservative mayor of Margate in Kent, was given a 12-month community order, ordered to carry out 80 hours' unpaid work and told to pay £2,000 in costs by Sittingbourne magistrates.


Photo from here.

The animal had been sucked dry of blood by the fleas, the court heard.

It was claimed that Watt-Ruffell, who pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering, did not know that the kitten - which suffered from anaemia caused by a flea allergy - was sick.

Following the case, RSPCA inspector Miranda Albinson said: "This kitten was dying and should have been taken straight to a vet. There is no excuse for this kind of neglect. This kitten could easily have been saved had vet treatment been sought."