Drunk father who threw his daughter’s kittens into the River Thames and advised her ‘allow them to die’ is spared jail
A father who threw his daughter’s pet kittens into the River Thames in a drunken moment of madness has been spared jail.
Andrew Shephard, 59, had been helping his child rehome the cats named River, Lucky and Happy when he tipped them from a box into the water from Twickenham Bridge last November.
As he did so, he could be heard shouting ‘let them die’ and ‘I want them to die’, Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court heard on Tuesday.
The father said he did not know ‘what came over me’ after pleading guilty to three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Police managed to retrieve the kittens from the water after being alerted to reports of ‘a male throwing cats into the River Thames’ by a member of the public.
Two of the pets were said to have been ‘wet and muddy’ while another was saved before it fell in.
They were were in shock, a court heard this week, after their temperatures dropped to below 33C.
The court heard the cats belonged to Shephard’s daughter, who had trusted her father find them a new home and was ‘not aware’ of what he had done.
Andrew Shephard, 59, threw three of his daughter’s cats over the Twickenham Bridge and into the River Thames in a drunken rage last November (Pictured: one of the kittens, named Lucky)
The pets were retrieved by police officers a short time later, with two of them said to be ‘wet and muddy’ (Pictured: Another of the trio of pets named River)
The father said he did not know ‘what came over me’ having previously pleaded guilty to three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal (Pictured: Happy, the final of the three pets)
Shephard spoke to police and told them ‘he felt bad about the situation’ and had shown ‘remorse’.
He stated he was ‘very drunk at the time’ and had a problem with alcohol, and that his daughter could ‘no longer keep’ the kittens.
The prosecutor said: ‘There was a clear intention for the kittens to be killed so it’s extreme and deliberate in nature.
‘The aggravating factor… is the fact that there was use of alcohol at the time – he did say he was intoxicated.’
The defendant, who represented himself, told the court: ‘I feel bad for what I done.
‘I’m not normally like that. I just don’t know what came over me at the time.
‘I was incapacitated by alcohol.’
Addressing Shephard, magistrate Elizabeth Evans JP said: ‘We have listened carefully to what you told us, we have listened carefully to the background of this case which is very unpleasant.
‘It’s quite clear that this crosses the custody threshold – it’s serious enough in sentencing terms to justify a prison sentence.’
Ms Evans suspended his sentence, adding that the probation service believes the defendant has a ‘good chance of rehabilitation’.
Shephard, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 17 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for a period of 18 months.
He must also complete 30 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days, pay a £154 surcharge, and pay £85 costs.
