A Renfrewshire man who kept owls and large birds of prey in squalid conditions has been banned from owning or keeping animals for five years.

Brandon Hodge was sentenced at Greenock Sheriff Court on Tuesday, November 4, after he admitted two charges of animal neglect. The court heard that the 28-year-old kept 18 birds tethered inside tiny faecal-encrusted cages stacked on top of each other.

Inspectors from the Scottish SPCA , who carried out a search of a property in Kilmacolm in May 2024, found the property strewn with rubbish, maggots and insects.

Conditions were so bad that they reduced one Scottish SPCA vet to tears. One bird, named Harris Hawk, had to be euthanised due to its poor condition.

Scottish SPCA inspectors described the smell inside the property as 'overpowering' a

See Full Page