Birdman brute left vet in tears with 'worst case' of neglect

Admitted neglect Brandon Hodge kept 17 owls and birds of prey in horrific' conditions

- MARK MCGIVERN

A barbaric birdman kept 17 large owls and 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, 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 its terrible injuries caused by neglect.

Vet Katie Denholm, who was called in to deal with the horrific scene, said: "I'd say 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."

Katie said animals were forced to stand in their own faeces and some were housed in cages next to larger birds that would predate on them in nature-causing ongoing stress.