LEADER OF THE PACK IS BANNED

Exotic pets left unfed for days, wore shock collars and had just filthy kennel for shelter

- TIM BUGLER

A SELF-STYLED "leader of the pack" who let a group of wolves run free in his garden was yesterday banned from keeping animals for five years.

Graham McQuet, 40, often left the wolfdogs to fend for themselves for days while wearing shock collars.

Neighbours called animal rescuers after the dogs howled all night and one escaped, terrifying locals in Grangemouth.

McQuet, who worked as a dog trainer, told the SSPCA he liked "the status" the wolfdogs gave him.

Investigators found there was little clean water for the animals and they had resorted to drinking from a leaky tap in the garden.

They were wolf-dog hybrids shipped from breeders in Russia and eastern Europe and had up to 98 per cent wolf DNA.

One, called Artas, died of blood loss after trapping a leg in his cage and severing it.

McQuet put his body in the freezer and the leg in a wheelie bin, where it was found with chew marks, suggesting it had been gnawed by another animal after it died.