Man banned from keeping animals after 18 birds found in poor conditions in Kilmacolm
The birds, including owls and kestrels, were kept in cages too small for them to spread their wings.
A man who kept 18 birds in tiny, filthy cages at a property in Renfrewshire has been banned from owning or keeping animals for five years.
Brandon Hodge, 28, was sentenced at Greenock Sheriff Court earlier after he admitted to two charges of animal neglect.
The Scottish SPCA and police officers discovered the birds at a home in Kilmacolm in May 2024 when they searched the property.
Inspectors found most of the cages stacked on top of each other and encrusted with faeces and waste.
The surrounding area was covered in rubbish, maggots, and insects.
The birds, which included nine varieties of owls, three American kestrels, and a red-footed falcon, were kept in cages too small for them to spread their wings.
They had no access to food or water and were found covered in dirt, feathers, faecal matter, and food waste.
One bird, a Harris Hawk, was in such poor condition that it had to be euthanised.
A Eurasian Eagle Owl was found with broken feathers on its right wing, while an American kestrel was missing a foot.
Some of the birds had anklets contaminated with faeces.
Conditions at the property were described by Scottish SPCA inspectors as among “the worst they had ever witnessed,” with the smell inside reported to be overpowering.
Anne Marie Hicks, Procurator Fiscal for North Strathclyde, said: “This was a shocking case of animal neglect.
“Brandon Hodge showed no regard for the welfare of these birds, which were kept in appalling conditions.
“The harm they suffered was unimaginable, and the public will rightly be appalled.
“Hodge has now been held accountable following this prosecution, and we will continue to prosecute crimes where there is a sufficiency of evidence and it is in the public interest to do so.”
Hodge was not only banned from keeping animals for five years, but he was also ordered to carry out 90 hours of unpaid work and placed under a 12-month supervision order.
Many of the surviving birds have since been rehomed at locations across Scotland, including Edinburgh Zoo and the Scottish Owl Centre in West Lothian.
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