Amy Byrne and Harry Angell Wiki – Amy Byrne and Harry Angell Biography
Former British transport police officer Amy Byrne, 30, and her partner Harry Angell, 31, bought some kittens for just £50 to sell for more than £1,500. A disgraced police officer and her boyfriend have been jailed for selling sick and dying kittens in a twisted £280,000 scam.
But when customers received their new pets, many found that they were malnourished, sick, and covered in their own urine or feces. The couple used at least 33 different fake names in their ads. These aliases included the genuine Cat Cuddles Rehoming charity and the identification of someone who had bought a cat from them.
Byrne lied to the buyers that she was a veterinarian and that the kittens had been dewormed and microchipped. The health certificates she provided also turned out to be fake. One victim said she arranged to buy a male kitten from the couple as a surprise for her autistic son who had recently lost her cat.
Amy Byrne and Harry Angell Jailed for Severn Years
Her son made a thank you card for Byrne which she accepted when she dropped off the kitten. After Byrne left, her mother noticed that the kitten was female, thin, and had diarrhea trapped in her fur. The kitten died a short time later.
At Woolwich Crown Court on May 5, the couple pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and breach of the Animal Welfare Act. Angell was jailed for three years and four months, while Byrne was jailed for three years and eight months.
The couple was also barred from having pets without appeal for 10 years. RSPCA prosecutor Hazel Stevens gave six examples where kittens died shortly after being purchased. She said: ‘There were human and animal casualties in this. Humans were at risk of contracting these diseases from the cat.
“Kids who were excited about a new family member, including a boy who made a card to thank Amy Byrne, only to see them die days later.”
Another scam victim of hers said: “Having recently lost a cat on the road, we were really looking forward to giving a new kitty a home.” We instantly fell in love with Elsa who was so sleepy and cuddly when we got her.
“During the previous two weeks we had her in our lives, she became part of our family. “We were devastated to watch her slowly go downhill, monitor her eating so little, try to rid her of the worms she came in with, and take her to the vet for numerous checks and tests.”
“She spent the last two days of hers in the animal hospital with them trying to do everything they could to make her better, but she gave up the fight and we began our mourning for little Elsa.” When the owners contacted Byrne and Angell again after the sale, they were often ignored. On one occasion, a distressed shopper and her boyfriend showed up at her home to demand their money back.
Byrne told them to wait outside until Angell arrived. When he arrived, Angell yelled, “You bought the kitty for me, not Amy, but I’m not giving you a damn dime.” After a high volume of complaints were sent to Trading Standards, the RSPCA, and the police, a raid was carried out on the couple’s home in Bexleyheath, south-east London, on 26 August 2021.
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A total of 17 kittens were found on the premises on the day of the search and six of them were judged to be suffering by a veterinarian. Those six cats were impounded and one died a short time later, the RSPCA said. Several of the kittens lived in sheds outside the house in the garden and their history of sales and complaints dated back to 2015.
During the raid, Byrne and Angell attempted to dispose of their cell phones. Angell jumped out the window and threw his phone onto the front lawn and, as the police chased him, Byrne performed a factory reset on his. Angell’s phone was recovered, revealing hundreds of images of kittens, ad inquiries and complaints from people who reported her kittens were sick.
The messages also revealed that the couple found advertisements for cheap kittens online, gave the cats flea treatments, and then sold them. On one occasion, Angell bragged about how he bought two kittens for £75 and then sold them for £600 each the following week.
Ms Stevens said analysis carried out by the RSPCA showed the couple intended to make a profit of £278,870. During an interview, Angell confirmed that the seized kittens had not seen a vet because she disagrees with veterinary practices.
Byrne admitted that they breed cats and sell them, but said they don’t make a profit. Byrne was a British Transport Police (BTP) officer when these crimes took place, but after a misconduct investigation, she was sacked in January 2023. A BTP misconduct hearing report said a hydroponics shop, two cannabis plants, a bag of cannabis, a half-smoked joint, and a packet of cannabis seeds were also found at an address she shared.
After the ruling, RSPCA inspector Kirsten Ormerod said: “This conclusion to this welfare case is the result of many months of work to put together the operation that Byrne and Angell were running from their home in Bexleyheath.”. I am incredibly grateful to the brave witnesses who helped us build this case.
“Welcoming a pet into their homes should have been a positive experience, but for many of them, it resulted in huge vet bills trying to save their poor new kitty, and for some, having it die within hours before their eyes. , what will have been a devastating experience.
“We also thank the Metropolitan Police and London’s Bexley Council for their vital role in this investigation.” Kitten breeding is not formally regulated in the UK, and those who sell small numbers of offspring of their pets do not require a license.
However, the UK government states that while this is the case, frequent breeders who use many animals could be classified as a business and may need a license. Operators still need a license if your business is home-based or sells animals online, and you can’t sell kittens if you haven’t raised them yourself.
Ms. Ormerod added: ‘This case shows why it is so important that anyone wanting to welcome a new kitten into their life should be careful when choosing one. “There are many unsuitable breeders who can fool people into believing that the animals are healthy and a unique litter of a much-loved pet, but this is often far from the truth.
“It is vital that new owners take the time to ensure that their new pet does not come from one of them. Otherwise, they can end up with all sorts of health and behavior problems down the road. “Better yet, we would always encourage prospective pet owners to think about adopting one of the many cats in our rescue centers who desperately need and deserve a new home.”
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