A Barry man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after posting shocking videos on TikTok showing his dogs violently attacking wild animals.
Mason Paines, 24, of Pendoylan Close, uploaded videos of his grey bedlington patterdale terrier named Fern and white patterdale terrier named Doris mauling badgers and a fox in woodland areas.
The disturbing content was discovered by a member of charity Naturewatch Foundation on November 11, 2023, who reported the illegal hunting and animal cruelty to police and the RSPCA.
When officers executed a warrant at his home on October 29 last year, Paines told an RSPCA officer: “I won’t lie to you, sometimes the dogs have had badgers while they have been out and there was nothing I could do about it.”
His mobile phone revealed numerous videos of the attacks, plus WhatsApp messages between Paines and his father containing footage of a badger being attacked and screaming in pain. One message read: “I’m gutted I missed that.”
Paines claimed he filmed the incidents because he was “in shock” and didn’t want to intervene at the risk of injuring himself, saying the attacks were “out of his control” whilst hunting rats and rabbits at night.
At Cardiff Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to six counts of causing an animal to fight, five counts of wilfully injuring a badger, and one count of hunting with dogs.
Judge Lucy Crowther told him: “You did this because you thought people would find it entertaining.”
Paines was also banned from owning or keeping dogs for 10 years, with ownership of his pets transferred to the RSPCA.
