A woman who neglected a dozen cats, four rats, a hamster and two bearded dragons, leaving the animals starving and emaciated and surrounded by their own faeces and rubbish, was fined £400 by Sheriff Tom Hughes.
Jamie-Ley Murray, 22, of Cleghorn Street, Dundee, was also banned from keeping animals for two years after the sheriff court heard the two reptiles were also suspected of having suffered metabolic bone disease.
Murray admitted that, between March 13 and April 7 last year, being the owner of the animals, she failed to ensure their needs were met, failed to provide a suitable environment and failed to feed them properly.
Depute fiscal Douglas Wiseman said that as a result of Murray’s ill-treatment, one of the rats was found to have died in the house while another had to be put to sleep by vets.
He said the SSPCA were called to the house after a tip-off and when officers entered the property they were met by a foul stench. A cat tray in the hall was covered in faeces and the floors all around were also littered with faeces and rubbish.
The various animals were rehomed, he said.
Solicitor David Duncan said Murray had been living at the house with her female partner but the other woman had appeared in court on a domestic abuse charge and they had separated.
The other woman had been banned by the court from contacting Murray or going to the house, however she told the accused she would take care of the animals.
He said his client was too scared to go to the house in case she encountered her former partner but she accepted her responsibility.
He said: “It’s not that she did nothing, it’s just that she didn’t do enough. Not all the animals were hers.”
Sheriff Hughes told her it was an “appalling situation that the animals were left to suffer under these conditions”.
Scottish SPCA inspector Robert Baldie said he was pleased that his team’s investigation had led to a ban on keeping animals for Murray.
“When I visited her property in April the smell was almost unbearable. The floor was covered in faeces and one of the rats was dead. Other animals were lethargic and unwilling to move, with the two small bearded dragons suffering from a bone disease,” he said.
“The animals had obviously been left unattended in the flat for quite some time and living in their own mess without having their basic needs provided for.
“We hope Murray will use the ban to accept responsibility for her actions and consider whether she should take on any more animals in future.”