A man from Ilford has been found guilty of multiple animal welfare offences relating to the abuse and neglect of two bull breed dogs at a property in Dagenham, following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.
Abdullah Kassim (DOB: 19.09.1998), of Richmond Road, Ilford, Essex, pleaded not guilty to four charges when he appeared at Redbridge Magistrates’ Court on 4 September.
However, he was found guilty of failing to protect his two dogs from pain, suffering, injury and disease, failure to provide them both with suitable living standards as well as failure to provide one of the dogs with a suitable diet and adequate vet care.
Kassim was sentenced to a 12-month community order, including five Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and 200 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay a £95 victim surcharge and received a five-year ban on owning animals.
Kassim and a woman known to him came to the RSPCA’s attention after video footage was submitted showing a woman striking a dog with a pole, causing the animal to yelp in distress. Additional images showed an underweight dog tied up in a garden.
RSPCA Inspector Chris McGreal visited a Dagenham address on 22 November 2022 where the footage was taken. The occupant initially refused to surrender the two dogs, Trigger and Chanelle. The garden where the dogs were kept was found to be in a hazardous and unsanitary condition, with dog faeces and dangerous debris, including a plank of wood with a nail protruding from it.
Following this, Inspector McGreal returned with a police officer and a warrant on 1 December 2022. Kassim was present, and Trigger was seized by police on veterinary advice.
The second dog, Chanelle, was found straying on 5 January 2023 and taken to a local pet rescue before being transferred into RSPCA care.
Veterinary examinations revealed both dogs had scars around their muzzles, with Chanelle also suffering from abrasions consistent with blunt force trauma. She was also significantly underweight.
An expert witness vet stated: “The dogs’ needs were not met in accordance with the DEFRA code. The owner failed in their duty to protect the animals during or following acts of violence. I estimate a period of suffering of at least 6 to 20 weeks. Under Section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the owner did not comply with the need to protect Trigger and Chanelle from pain, suffering, injury, and disease.”
In mitigation, Kassim claimed he had purchased the dogs for the other individual and was rarely at the property, as the pair had since separated.
