Would-be Lib Dem MP jailed for battering cat to death with walking stick

A prospective Lib Dem MP who speaks out on crime and policing was behind bars today after he was jailed for battering the family cat to death – with a walking stick. Mike Dixon, 53, prospective parliamentary candidate for Birmingham Northfield, killed black and white cat Tipsy with repeated blows to the head and body in May last year.

He ”lost his temper” and clubbed the family feline to death at the family home in Kidderminster, Worcs., after the pet scratched one of his grandchildren. In the same month Dixon gained 6,550 votes (15.66 per cent) when he stood as a Lib Dem candidate in the General Election.



The court heard the married father-of-two killed Tipsy – which they had kept for five years – at their home, after it scratched one of his grandchildren on May 14 last year. Dixon admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a cat contrary to the Animal Welfare Act 2006 at Kidderminster Magistrates Court on Thursday and was jailed for 16 weeks.

Brian McCluskie, chairman of the bench, told Dixon: ”This was a prolonged and awful attack on an animal, which was a result of your inability to keep your temper. That resulted in the family pet being bludgeoned to death. The family pet did not die quickly. You ignored pleas of your family and you caused horrific suffering.”