TWO WOMEN JAILED FOR TORTURING AND KILLING PET PARROT
Two women who inflicted torture and ultimately caused the death of a friend’s pet parrot during an extended drinking session have received prison sentences from a judge, who described their cruelty as “beyond comprehension”.A court was informed that Tracy Dixon, aged 47, and Nicola Bradley, aged 35, subjected Sparky, a female African grey parrot, to such treatment that included spraying oven cleaner labeled Mr Muscle onto the bird, applying gloss paint, and attempting to feed it to a dog.
Their actions culminated in placing the parrot inside a tumbler dryer, which was turned on.
The women placed blame on each other for the incident.
Judge Archer, presiding at Carlisle Crown Court, sentenced both to 25 months in prison.
He stated that Dixon and Bradley had “sadistically tortured and essentially killed Sparky together,” adding that “it is frankly beyond comprehension how anyone could treat an animal this way.” The court learned that the two women were picked up after a night out by their friend, Paul Crooks, who owns Sparky, on July 30 of the previous year.
Around 5:30 a.m., Crooks took them to his home in Carlisle.
While the women continued drinking, Crooks went to bed.
He later woke up at 8:30 a.m.
to find that his guests had played with shaving foam that had spilled over Sparky’s cage.
After cleaning the foam, Crooks left the house for shopping, instructing the women to leave the bird alone.
Upon his return, Crooks found the women wearing his clothing, with Sparky unresponsive and unrecognizable, its head hanging out of the cage.
Confronting them, Crooks discovered the parrot had been covered in various substances including Mr Muscle oven cleaner, Brasso metal polish, and furniture polish.
The bird had also been painted with gloss paint and struck with a tea towel.
Court testimony revealed that there were attempts to feed Sparky to Crooks’s dog, and that the bird was eventually placed in a switched-on tumble dryer.
When the dryer door was opened, the parrot was found gasping for breath, and one of the women was seen wringing its neck, leading to its death.
Dixon and Bradley, both of Carlisle, faced trial last month, denying allegations of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, but were convicted by city magistrates.
Prosecutor Daniel Bramhall stated that Sparky was healthy and happy before the defendants carried out their sadistic acts.
The court also imposed bans preventing both women from owning or keeping animals indefinitely.
