A BRADFORD woman who let her two cats starve to death has been banned from keeping all animals.
One of the cats, whose body was discovered in a bathroom sink in a house in Bradford, was so hungry that traces of plastic were found in his stomach. Another cat was found dead wedged behind furniture under the attic stairs.
Her only surviving pet, a severely emaciated Jack Russell dog called Edie, had been confined in the kitchen without anything to eat or drink and had chewed her way through food and drink cartons.
Bernadette Gallivan, of Saxton Avenue, Buttershaw, Bradford, has now been banned from keeping all animals indefinitely after she was sentenced at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on February 23 following a prosecution by the RSPCA.
The court heard how the 47-year-old moved out of the property in Carr Street, Bankfoot, to live with a friend but had not returned to feed her pets.
A visit was attempted by an RSPCA inspector on January 19, 2022, after concerns were raised about the welfare of animals at Carr Street
The inspector returned the following day to post cat food through the letterbox and gained entry the next day with the help of police.
“The dog was very meek, timid and appeared petrified,” the RSPCA inspector told the court. “The kitchen sides were full of cups, old spoiled milk, eggshells and pots. She ran out into the front room and started eating the cat food I had posted the previous day. I put her on a lead and walked her to my van, she felt light as a feather.”
The dog weighed just 3.9 kilograms. Six weeks later - in the care of the local RSPCA branch - her weight had increased to 6.8kg.
Magistrates also heard how an adult white and tabby cat called Bentley was found curled up dead in the sink of the upstairs bathroom. The barely recognisable body of another cat, a black and white male called Mischief, was discovered upside down between a set of wooden drawers and a wall under the attic stairs.
Gallivan, who had pleaded guilty to four animal welfare offences at Bradford Magistrates’ Court on December 20, was also given a 12-month community order and must carry out 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
She will not be able to contest her disqualification for a period of ten years.
The court heard she had significant personal health issues and had not been coping at the time of the offences.
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