Cop and partner jailed for selling dying kittens in scam

A former police officer and her partner have been jailed for selling dying kittens in a scam worth £280,000.

British Transport Police officer Amy Byrne, 30, and Harry Angell, 31, both of Downbank Avenuein Bexleyheath, sold sick kittens, sometimes covered in their faeces, for as much as £1,500.

The duo claimed in adverts the kittens were regularly health checked, treated for fleas and worms, had been microchipped and would be sold with official paperwork.

An RSPCA investigation found the paperwork was never handed over or the buyer was given fraudulent documents.

Trading Standards, the RSPCA and police received a large number of complaints about the couple, which led to a search of their home on August 26, 2021.

A total of 17 kittens were found and a vet judged that six of them were suffering. Those six cats were confiscated and one died a short time later, the RSPCA said.

A number of the kittens were living in hutches outside the house in the garden and their history of sales and complaints stretched back as far as 2015.

At Woolwich Crown Court on May 5, the couple pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and breaches 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 were also disqualified from owning pets for life, with no appeal for 10 years.

Inspector Vikki Dawe, who investigated the case, said in her witness statement to the court: “One [handset] appeared to be a phone which is used to deal with enquiries about the purchase of kittens and some people contacting this phone to make an enquiry are calling the seller by the names Charlotte and Mia.

“A second phone appears to be Harry Angell’s phone. There are hundreds of images of cats and kittens as well as a number of enquiries to Harry about kittens that are advertised. There are also complaints to this phone sent by people that report to have purchased kittens who were sick.

“A third phone reveals a series of messages from ‘Harry’ telling the recipient that he finds adverts for kittens on online selling sites, find ones that are really cheap and haven’t had flea and worm treatment, give them that and sell them on. He gives an example of buying two kittens for £75 each and selling them on the next week for £600 each.

“He also says at one point that they have over 20 there at that time.”

Byrne also claimed she was a vet which was proven to be untrue during the course of the investigation. Some kittens were also sold of the wrong breed, gender or age.

Prices paid ranged between just £50 to in excess of £1,500, paid either in cash or by bank transfer.

Pictured top: One of the sick kittens sold by Byrne and Angell which died (Picture: RSPCA)