This neglect and suffering made me crv

Vet brought to tears by state man had birds living in

- BY MARK MCGIVERN

A BARBARIC birdman kept 17 large owls and other birds of prey in tiny boxes in such a terrible state that a vet was left in tears.

Brandon Hodge, 28, crammed the birds into cages that made it impossible to fly or even move their wings.

When Scottish SPCA investigators raided Hodge's home in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire, they found a scene of “horror’, with some birds tethered together in a tiny cage and a large Harris hawk that had to be euthanised due to terrible injuries caused by neglect.

Vet Katie Denholm, who was called in to deal with the horrific scene, said: “This was the worst case of its kind I have witnessed and the level of neglect and suffering did cause me to cry.

“The living conditions were not fit for animals and the smell was unbearable.

“It is hard to think how anyone would not have been aware of the suffering these birds were caused every moment they were in these cages”