A man has been sent to prison for 12 weeks and a woman handed an eight-week suspended prison sentence after admitting a number of animal welfare offences.

More than 100 animals were rescued from squalid conditions: seven dogs, four cats, and 93 assorted poultry and birds were removed after they were discovered in dirty cages and squalid conditions. One cat was found to have a serious untreated eye injury, while nine birds, including a european eagle owl, a harris hawk and a goshawk, were left without suitable food.

Jonathan Champion and Amanda Miles, both of Pensilva, Cornwall, appeared before Bodmin Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 7 March in a prosecution by the RSPCA. The charity had been contacted by a member of the public in September 2018 who raised concerns for animals that were in the care of the couple.

Mr Champion and Ms Miles, who had previously been disqualified from keeping dogs by the courts in 2016 following an earlier investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA, were also found to be in breach of their bans, having been found with dogs in their care.

RSPCA inspector Claire Ryder, who investigated for the charity, said: “The sentences imposed by magistrates highlight the seriousness of the offences. Courts impose disqualification orders on people convicted on animal welfare offences to protect further animals from suffering.

“It is important to reiterate to the public that we rely on them to tell us if someone has breached a ban. We depend on the public to be our eyes and ears and we take breaches of bans very seriously - as do the courts.”

Magistrates also fined each a total of £300 and a £115 victim surcharge and increased the disqualified orders for both, now banning them for life from keeping any animal, rather than just dogs.