A 27-year-old man from Weaverham in Cheshire has been sentenced after admitting cruelty to animal offences.

Liam Talbot, from Weaverham appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday 8 January to plead guilty to causing unnecessary suffering in relation to a dog called Sid, Animal fighting between dogs and badgers or foxes, causing three dogs to fight with wild animals and taking and killing a badger.

Talbot’s cruelty came to an end when Cheshire Constabulary’s Rural Crime Team received information from the Naturewatch Foundation which led to a joint investigation with the RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit.

As part of the investigation, two warrants were obtained. During the search officers found a number of items that had been present in videos posted on social media which showed numerous animal and wildlife abuse offences.

Talbot was sentenced to 16-weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and disqualified from keeping all animals for three years. He was also given a community order with 25 hours rehabilitation activity requirement, and ordered to pay £500 in costs and £154 Victim Surcharge.

The two dogs involved in the case – Pepper and Sid – were officially handed over to the RSPCA.

PC Jim Clark said:

“My special thanks to those who continue to work tirelessly to provide us with a great starting point to target those who commit Wildlife crime and abuse to animals in Cheshire.

“We will continue to act on information and bring those to justice who cause unnecessary suffering to animals and are a danger to our wildlife.”