A man has been sentenced after keeping cockerels for fighting and housing dozens of chickens in poor conditions.

Henry John Beaney, of Bridge House Road, Blackpool, was sentenced at Preston Magistrates’ Court on October 7 after he pleaded guilty to four offences under the Animal Welfare Act.

He was sentenced to an 18-month community order with a probation requirement, 140 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay £450 in costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

Beaney was also disqualified from keeping birds for seven years.

Two fighting pits were found at the site (Image: RSPCA)

The case followed an investigation by the RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit (SOU), which joined Lancashire Police to execute a warrant at a stable yard in Lytham St Annes.

They discovered 27 cockerels and 25 hens, with evidence linking the site to organised cockfighting.

“From my experience, this appeared to me to be an animal fighting pit.

“One stable was covered in feathers, and I could see that there was spatter on the walls which looked like blood.”

Blood found at the scene was confirmed to be from a cockerel, and a dead cockerel was also found.

A vet who assessed the birds said they had not been provided with perching or clean pens (Image: RSPCA)

Many of the birds had been dubbed, a process where their combs and wattles are removed, commonly seen in fighting birds.

Officers removed all 27 cockerels from the site and left the hens with instructions to improve their care, so as not to disturb unhatched eggs.

A vet who assessed the birds said they had not been provided with perching or clean pens, and that their accommodation was too small.

Some birds were found with lice, and one cockerel had untreated lesions on his feet.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/26631513.blackpool-man-sentenced-keeping-birds-cockfighting/