‘Sadistic’ roofer fed neighbour’s rescued ferrets to his pet dogs

A roofer who ‘fed’ his neighbour’s two ferrets to his pet dogs has been jailed.

Axel Shane Read, 24, stole the rescue animals named Pumpkin and Latte from an enclosure belonging to Laice Cleough on July 31, 2024.

CCTV showed two men, including Read, at around 6:30pm outside the cage, which was in Miss Cleough’s back garden in Carlisle, Cumbria.

His accomplice was seen shining a light into the cage to locate the ferrets while Read, then aged 22, in the bottom right, opened the cage door.

Read could then be seen sticking his hand inside before grabbing and removing the two beloved pets.

The animals were later found dead under a hedge and inside a black bin.

Blurry CCTV captured the man stealing the two ferrets (Picture: SWNS)

Laice posted an update on Facebook after finding her animals dead and said she found them with ‘bite marks to the body and trauma to their body and head’.

She suggested her animals were ‘potentially used as bait’. A video shown to the court showed Read holding a ferret and ‘trying to get’ one of his dogs to have a ‘go at it’.

Read was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court to 15 months’ imprisonment for his actions.

Sentencing the thug, His Honour Judge Fanning played a video where Read was caught saying that one of the dead ferrets ‘stinks’ while trying to dispose of it.

Mr Fanning said: ‘It was told during the trial that the animals express an odour when under stress. I know that both of these animals died in fear. I raise that this was an act of execution and an act of sadism.’

Judge Fanning did mention that he was with a group of lads and may have been ‘nudged on’ to commit the act.

But he did not condone how the animals’ deaths were celebrated, including how Read told his dog he was a ‘good boy’ after allegedly killing the animal.

Mr Fanning said even though it remains unclear how the animals died, Read’s dogs were trained to kill by ‘putting pressure on the neck’.

Judge Fanning said he declined to suspend Read’s sentence as if he did not imprison him, ‘other young lads may think it is acceptable to do something similar’.

Read was previously found guilty on September 11 unanimously by a jury of five on charges including causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, both by causing a ferret to be destroyed by a dog, and causing a ferret to be taken from its protected enclosure, resulting in its death.

Laice kept the two rescue animals among 25 other ferrets in her garden as well as homing other animals.

The court was told that she called the police before approaching Read at his house, believing he still had the animals.

Prosecutor Lucy Todd told the court an argument ensued during which Read told her: ‘I don’t have your stinky ferrets. If I had taken your ferrets, I would have skinned them and left them outside your front door.’

Read also threatened to destroy her car and home, the court was told.

During a victim impact statement read to the court by Miss Tood, Laice said the incident left her paranoid and scared to live in her own home.

Alongside his prison sentence, Read was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge.

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