Doncaster friends who used dogs to hunt and kill wildlife are sentenced

Two Doncaster friends have been sentenced for using their dogs to hunt wildlife and failing to get them treated for injuries sustained during the illegal hunting.

Lewis Richard Wray, previously of Runnymede Road, Intake, faced 13 offences, including docking puppies’ tails, failing to meet the needs of dogs, causing unnecessary suffering after failing to get vet treatment for injuries, and using his dogs to hunt and kill wild animals.

Officers from the RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit a specialist investigation team that deals with serious and organised animal crime, like illegal hunting – visited Wray’s address in Intake on 20 December 2024 to assist as South Yorkshire Police executed a warrant.

RSPCA officers launched an investigation after intelligence was passed to them from Naturewatch Foundation from social media profiles and posts.

Four dogs were found at the property: a wire-haired lurcher called Ruby and three Patterdale terriers – Peanut, Pip and Sky.

Phone analysis showing the dogs being used for hunting meant all of the dogs were later removed and placed into RSPCA care.

RSPCA Inspector Claire Mitchell, who was there on the day, said – in her witness statement: “I noticed that Pip and Peanut had old healed scarring under their chins.”

A vet who examined all of the dogs found Peanut to be docked, and with ‘historical scarring from injuries’ around her face and ears, and ‘evidence of deep scars around her nose’.

The vet found Pip who was also docked – to have ‘multiple scars’ around her muzzle and ears and, again, found ‘very deep scars’ under her chin alongside ‘large lesions [of] missing fur’.

When examining Sky, the vet found an ‘obvious scar’ beside her eye and scars on her nose, which she later spotted in the photos. Sky was also docked.

Wray initially denied using social media and said he didn’t have a phone but when police called his number it could be heard ringing upstairs and was soon located and seized.

The phone was analysed and a number of videos were recovered showing Wray’s dogs ‘hunting, fighting and killing wildlife including foxes and badgers’, Inspector Mitchell added, in her statement.

The analysis also uncovered chat messages with other individuals involved in the illegal persecution of wildlife prompting a secondary operation by SOU, in which two warrants were executed at addresses in Doncaster, on 13 May 2025.

Inspector Mitchell said: “It was obvious from this chat that the two knew each other very well and were regularly going out hunting wild mammals with dogs. Videos, audio messages and chats were exchanged between the two.”

Three dogs in total were removed during the two warrants – a lurcher called Reggie and a terrier called Rosie as well as a terrier called Max – and taken into care by the RSPCA.

A vet who examined Reggie and Rosie described ‘multiple scars’, all healed, on Reggie’s face, muzzle, forehead, legs, chest and hocks.

Messages between Wray and McLay showed that Reggie had suffered a significant injury underneath his chin which hadn’t been treated at home but had, instead, been stapled at home.

At Sheffield Crown Court on Monday (12 October), Wray was sentenced to three years in prison and disqualified from keeping all animals for life.

McLay was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 12 months, was ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work, and was banned from keeping all animals for 12 years.