9th September 2023
AN alleged badger baiter is facing a Crown Court trial on more than 30 animal welfare charges.
Jason Lee Kennedy is accused of organising and attending animal fights, along with sharing videos of the so-called sport with others.
The 35-year-old is also charged with keeping wild animals, namely badgers, and intentionally or recklessly injuring badgers.
In total, Kennedy, whose address was given as Ross Road in Enniskillen, faces a total of 36 charges under animal welfare legislation.
The case against him was mentioned at the town’s magistrates court last week where a lawyer for the Public Prosecution Service confirmed the charges would proceed on indictment.
That means the case will be sent to the higher Crown Court where the penalties for the offences Kennedy is alleged to have committed are much higher.
After a hearing on Wednesday, Deputy District Judge Austin Kennedy adjourned the case until October 18.
Kennedy is free on continuing bail and is not to have possession of any animal, nor attend any hunting-related activities, and must sign bail with police four days per week.
He first appeared in court in March this year after being arrested following a police investigation into suspected badger baiting and animal cruelty offences in the Derrylin area of Fermanagh.
The charges Kennedy faces all relate to offences allegedly committed on either June 28 or July 4 last year.
It is claimed he “caused an animal fight to take place” on a total of six occasions and was present at those fights.
He also faces three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a cat, three of causing unnecessary suffering to badgers and four counts of injuring badgers.
Kennedy is also alleged to have kept badgers, or parts of badgers, and to have had in his possession a dead badger or part of one.
He is further charged with six counts of having a recording of an animal fight and knowing the footage was of such a fight.
It is claimed Kennedy also supplied video recordings of animals fights on four different occasions.
Penalties for the offences of the kind he allegedly committed are between six and 12 months in prison and fines of up to £20,000 at the magistrates court level where the vast majority of animal cruelty cases are dealt with.
However, at the Crown Court the penalties for those convicted of such offences can see jail terms of up to two years, according to sentencing guidelines.