Caught by his own camera: The sickening photograph of grinning thug who used his dog to hunt and kill foxes and badgers

By PHIL VINTER

Shocking: Smiling at the camera sick Richard Atkins caught himself red-handed in this snap that has seen him jailed for using his dogs to hunt and kill foxes and badgers

A twisted sadist has been jailed after he bred dogs to hunt down and kill foxes and badgers so he could film it for a sick thrill.
Richard Atkins from Newall in Derbyshire has been sentenced to 24 weeks behind bars after a photo showed him smiling with glee as he held a still live fox by the throat.
The 45-year-old, who captured the stomach-churning acts carried out by his dogs for posterity on video, admitted nine charges when he appeared at Burton upon Trent Magistrates Court on Friday.
The court was told by the RSPCA’s prosecution team that Atkins was responsible for 'incredibly malicious and sadistic cruelty to animals.'
In addition to his prison sentence of nearly six months Atkins also received a lifetime ban on keeping all animals and the forfeiture of all his dogs and equipment used for baiting and hunting.

Appalling: Atkins, 45, trained his hounds to hunt down and attack wild animals. He then filmed the sickening attacks on a digital video camera which he showed to his pals

The nine charges he admitted included causing animals to fight, keeping dogs for the purpose of animal fighting, causing unnecessary suffering and animal welfare offences. Inspectors from the RSPCA’s special operations unit spent two years investigating him.
They were able to successfully bring the prosecution to court when forensic examination of badger baiting footage seized from a digital video camera proved a voice heard in the background was that of Atkins.
The court saw graphic footage of Atkins’s black Patterdale terrier and bull lurcher type dog carrying out attacks on two badgers and a fox in separate incidents in 2010.

Brutal: A badger is caught in the teeth of two of Atkins' dogs as he carries out one of his nighttime baiting sessions

In another clip a badger is seen having its leg torn off, while men - including Atkins - can be heard laughing in the background.
As well as the harrowing clips which showed the wild animals being attacked, the dogs used by Atkins also suffered sickening injuries during the attacks.
The defendant admitted that he would attempt to treat his dogs’ injuries at home, rather than take them to a vet and raise suspicion.
Both the Patterdale terrier and bull lurcher seen in the footage were found at Atkins’ home when a warrant was carried out by police and the RSPCA in March last year.

source: dailymail