Bird abuser's animal ban

Cruel keeper barred from having wildlife at home

- RUTH SUTER

A BARBARIC birdman who kept birds of prey tethered in tiny squalid cages has been banned from keeping animals.

Brandon Hodge, 28, had 18 birds including owls in his filthy cottage in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire.

He crammed the animals into cages so small they could not fly or even move their wings. The room was strewn with rubbish and infested with maggots and insects.

Animal welfare officers found most of the carrier cages were stacked on top of one another.

One Harris Hawk had to be euthanised due to its terrible injuries caused by neglect.

Hodge was sentenced yesterday at Greenock Sheriff Court after he admitted two charges of animal neglect.