Cruel birdman banned from keeping animals

Hodge kept birds of prey in tiny cages and filthy conditions

- RUTH SUTER

Cramped Birds were cooped up in awful conditions

A barbaric birdman who kept owls and birds of prey tethered inside tiny cages and in squalid conditions has been banned from keeping animals.

Brandon Hodge, 28, was sentenced at Greenock Sheriff Court on Tuesday after he admitted two charges of animal neglect.

The ban will last for five years. He was also made subject of a 12-month supervision order and ordered to carry out 90 hours of unpaid work.

The horror unfolded at Hodge's property in Kilmacolm after a call-out by police officers and inspectors from the Scottish SPCA (SSPCA) last year.

A total of 18 birds were discovered inside the filthy property.

They found most of the cages on top of each other and covered in faecal matter and waste.

Hodge crammed the animals into cages so small that made it impossible for them to fly or even move their wings.

The surrounding area was also strewn with rubbish, maggots and insects.