Dogs and birds found at home of man banned from owning animals for life

A Kent man who was banned from owning animals for life was found with 11 lurcher dogs and 15 quail at his property.

The RSPCA prosecuted Langley Beck after the animal charity visited the defendant’s home address at Bell Lane, Boxley, accompanied by Kent Police, on December 9, 2022.

They found the lurcher dogs, two of whom had suffered injuries, and quail living on the sprawling site, on which the defendant was living in a static home. On another visit on August 15, 2023, a lurcher dog was found on the premises.

Beck, (D.o.B 9/6/1963), pleaded not guilty to two breaches of a disqualification order prohibiting him from owning animals for the rest of his life, a ban which was imposed on February 19, 2022.

He was convicted of the breaches following a trial and appeared for sentencing at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on October 31 where a district judge imposed a 12-month community order on him with a requirement that he complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

RSPCA Inspector Clive Hopwood investigated after the charity received information that Beck still had dogs in his possession despite his ban. The inspector was joined by police rural crime officers, two of whom were bitten by the dogs as they arrested the defendant.

The inspector said: "All the dogs were extremely nervous and unsocialised and at least two of them had minor leg wounds consistent with fighting within their group. We were accompanied by a vet onto the site, which is extremely large and overgrown with several derelict cars on it."

The canines were sedated by the vet before being transported to private boarding accommodation approved by the RSPCA.

Beck denied the breach because he said the disqualification was being appealed. He claimed in court the RSPCA "left dogs behind" after their first visit and did not take the quail. The defendant claimed the dogs were "well looked after".

The district judge told the defendant that, although his animals were "not in a particularly poor condition", he had committed a serious breach of a disqualification order. As well as the community sentence, the defendant was told to pay a victim surcharge of £114 and a £500 contribution to court costs, while he remains banned from owning animals for life.