Pet ban for Highland man who kept animals in 'appalling' conditions
Scott Trist, 35, neglected four dogs, a hedgehog, a snake, and a fish, Inverness Sheriff Court was told.
Animal welfare charity the Scottish SPCA discovered an underfed 7ft boa constrictor in Trist's dog faeces-covered home.
A catfish that Trist mistakenly thought was dead at the time but was actually alive lay in an empty fish tank.
SSPCA inspectors uncovered the concerns at the property on Thain Road, Whitebridge, near Inverness, during a visit on April 26 last year, following a complaint from a member of the public.
The court heard that, at first, Trist had refused the inspectors access to his home but eventually agreed to let them in.
An African pygmy hedgehog was rescued from another tank that contained no lighting, heating, or food, and the animal had eye and leg injuries.
'These are appalling conditions,' Sheriff Gary Aitken commented, with Trist's defence lawyer, Duncan Henderson, agreeing.
However, Mr Henderson asked Sheriff Aitken to treat his client's case as 'neglect and not active cruelty'.
Mr Henderson added: 'He is struggling with his mental health, but the conditions should have been painfully obvious to him.'
The lawyer representing the offender confirmed that there were no other animals in Trist's house, but said he drove his partner's three horses in a horsebox.
Mr Henderson asked that any animal ban slapped on his client not be applied to transporting the horses, adding there were no concerns about their welfare.
Trist pled guilty to three charges. They included:
Trist, who now lives in Fichty, Farr, was ordered to carry out 210 hours of unpaid work in the community.
'It is almost inconceivable that anyone could live in conditions like this, let alone keep entirely dependent animals in these conditions and not realise anything was grossly wrong,' the sheriff told the offender.
He was also given a stern warning that he would be jailed if he failed to complete the hours.
'You are very close to a prison sentence where you would be kept in a cage, except you would be fed and it kept clean,' Sheriff Aitken explained.
'If you were confined, then you would be kept in significantly better conditions than your animals.'
Trist was also banned from keeping, caring for, or owning any animal for the next four years.
However, he was allowed to continue transporting the horses.
Reacting to the sentencing, an SSPCA spokesperson said Trist's case was an example of the 'severe consequences' of animal neglect.
They added that during their search of Trist's property last year, inspectors found one of the dogs, a six-month-old puppy named Sadie, so frightened that she was 'desperately' attempting to hide.
'Upon entering the living room, we were met with overwhelming evidence of neglect,' they said.
Since the visit, all of Trist's animals have been rehomed.
'We are relieved these animals are now safe and are now in the homes they deserve, ' the spokesperson added.
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Years and years of doing massive protests like the Stop the War march in London and they just still invaded the next day. 'You do all of these massive events and then the only coverage we'd get would be the traffic news. I gave up the whole of my 20s, pretty much, to fight capitalism and be an activist.' Jay says: 'Stirling was the end of a cycle. It was a symbolic victory. Protesters were saying, 'This isn't normal. This isn't democracy.' But there is a burnout culture in activism. I teach regenerative activism now to combat it.' Fraser says of direct action: 'Obviously there is a sort of bravado – of youth or masculinity.' Giovanna adds: 'There were huge amounts of courage and, yes, sacrifice and creativity.' Amy says: 'I don't want to categorise my life in a hierarchy of excitingness, but they definitely were very exciting times. There was a sense of heroism, we're the ones who are standing up. Danger intertwined with righteousness – which is what makes heroism, isn't it?' 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