Animal keeping ban for failing to treat injured pet

Animal keeping ban for failing to treat injured pet

A man has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years after causing unnecessary suffering to his pet cat.

A report came into the council on 15 August 2025 after someone had attended a property in Wexham Road on a work visit and had concerns about a cat holding its leg at an awkward angle, limping and crying out, but not being attended to by the residents.

The council’s animal welfare officer visited the property on 18 August 2025 and saw the young ginger cat unable to bear weight on one of its legs.

Its owner, David Wallis, aged 36 at the time, confirmed Jackson the cat had injured himself jumping off a kitchen cupboard. He stated he was thinking of taking him to the vets but hadn’t done so far.

The council officer offered to take Jackson to the vets, and Mr Wallis agreed.

The vet found the cat had a complete fracture of his right front leg, which was now trying to heal at an abnormal angle.

The vet stated that if Jackson has been taken to a vet immediately after the injury, it’s highly likely the leg could have been straightened, bandaged and splinted to allow it to heal properly, and he could have been given pain relief.

The options were to amputate the leg or euthanise the cat.

Mr Wallis had the situation explained to him, and the likely costs, and he said he couldn’t afford it. He agreed to sign ownership of the cat over to the council permanently, and arrangements were made for the operation to happen.

On 20 August 2025, the council officer asked the vet how they thought the injury could have happened. They stated it was unlikely to be caused from jumping from a cabinet, and more likely to be a fall from a height, something falling on Jackson, or him being trod on.

The council hand delivered a letter to Mr Wallis on 21 August 2025, inviting him to a formal voluntary interview under caution on 4 September 2025. Mr Wallis did not engage with the investigation, and prosecution proceedings were launched for Animal Welfare Act 2006 offences.

On 19 June 2026, Mr Wallis attended Slough Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to breaching sections 4 & 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 - Unnecessary suffering and Animal Welfare Duty of Care.

He was sentenced to a 100-hour Community Order, over 12 months. This includes 15 days Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR), and 12 sessions of Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTR).

He was ordered to pay costs of £5,560 and a victim surcharge of £114, a total of £5,674, and was disqualified from keeping all animals for 10 years.

Councillor Zafar Satti, lead member for public protection and regulatory services, said: “This could all have been avoided if the cat was treated initially.

“It’s only because of a report from a concerned person that we became aware of this case, so thank you to them for noticing something was wrong, helping to prevent further suffering. I’m glad to see the courts taking animal cruelty offences seriously.”

Since his operation, Jackson has fully recovered and is living in a loving home under a new name, where he gets lots of attention.