James Andrew Marchant, 42, and Clair Yvonne Malik, 42, have been banned from keeping animals after pleading guilty to animal cruelty offences following an RSPCA investigation
A man and woman have been prosecuted after a malnourished dog was filmed being thrown over a six-foot garden gate in Bristol.
James Andrew Marchant, 42, and Clair Yvonne Malik, 42, of Privet Drive, Bristol, have pleaded guilty following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA. On September 5, 2025, a neighbour reported that Marchant had wrestled a terrier to the ground.
The neighbour started filming him and captured Marchant hurling the dog, called Boomer, over the wooden gate on one side of the property onto the paved surface on the other. The neighbours yelled at him to stop, the police were called, and Marchant was detained, reports Bristol Live.
The vet who examined the footage informed the court that Boomer would have endured pain and distress while being restrained in such an improper way, along with instant discomfort from being gripped and lifted.
They stated that this would have been followed by terror and anguish while plummeting, and experiencing immediate agony upon landing.
He stated: “The callous manner in which he threw Boomer over the fence, compounded by the failure to have him then checked by a vet, illustrates that he failed in his duty to protect him from pain, suffering, injury and disease.”
Boomer was also discovered to be underweight and undernourished, with minimal fat coverage. The vet who assessed him awarded him a body conditioning score of just two out of nine (one being the lowest and nine the highest).
Under RSPCA care, Boomer gained weight merely through proper feeding. He weighed 2kg (4.4lb) upon arrival but reached 3.5kg (7.7lb) when the charity rehomed him a month following the incident, marking a 75% increase.
Marchant admitted two animal welfare charges, one relating to hurling Boomer over the fence, and another for failing to provide him with adequate nutrition.
He received a ten-year ban from keeping animals and cannot challenge the disqualification for seven years. He was also ordered to pay £400 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.
Malik, who confessed to one charge of failing to meet Boomer’s needs regarding his weight, was prohibited from keeping dogs for five years and cannot appeal the disqualification for three years.
She was also fined £120 and ordered to pay £400 costs and a £40 victim surcharge when the pair were sentenced at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on June 24.
RSPCA Inspector Kim Walters, who investigated for the charity, said after sentencing: “Animals feel pain and suffering just like we do and always deserve to be shown kindness and compassion.
“We’re so grateful to everyone who speaks up for animals and grateful to the neighbour for reporting what they’d witnessed. We will always look into reports of animals suffering and we depend on the public to be our eyes and ears and report any concerns to us.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.